Unbalanced
by mastermage
Summary: The organisation has many secrets...and some of them are better left untouched. Yet, slowly but surely, the biggest lie in history will be uncovered. AU starting from shortly before the war in Pieta
1. Chapter 1

Unbalanced

Unbalanced

-A Claymore Fanfiction -

Chapter 1 – Lucky Encounter

The northern lands of Alphonse

„I still find it hard to believe, that a bunch of awakened beings are supposedly working together. This sounds like a bad joke, if you ask me."

Helen and Deneve were making their way towards Pieta. It had been two days since they met up in a small town a little further south. Two days Helen had used to inform everyone who would listen, that a trip to Pieta was probably wasted time. Deneve, being the only one around, had heard the same tirade very often.

"We go where we are sent. It does not matter what awaits us." Deneve prided herself on the fact, that not even a fraction of the irritation she felt at her companion leaked through her voice as she said the same thing she had the last 20 times.

Helen sighed in boredom. "I wish something interesting would happen already; walking around for weeks on end sucks!"

A smile hushed over Deneve's features for a fleeting moment. For all her annoying tendencies, being near Helen when she was bored was always …interesting. Of course, Helen alone could only do so much, what she needed was a 'partner'.

No sooner had they rounded the next bend in the path they were walking on, when a potential 'partner' came into view. Maybe 50 meters further along a young human male was walking by himself.

Something about the figure tickled her brain, but Deneve ignored it in favour of glancing at Helen. Her friend's eyes were gleaming fiercely and for a moment Deneve pitied the poor soul walking I front of them. Then again, it was a human, and none of them was deserving of sympathy.

Quickening their stride they ate up the distance quickly and the human turned at the sound of their armoured feet hitting the ground. By now his bloody and torn clothing, not nearly enough to keep a human warm this far north was easy to see.

Some of the cuts, the tatters he wore could not hide, were still healing. Wherever he had gotten them, it must have been 1 or 2 weeks ago.

Her right hand gripped her claymore tightly on instinct. The wounds may have looked like they were inflicted by a normal sword, but she had not stayed alive this long by being incautious.

'_What am I missing?'_ Deneve wondered once again, while Helen bent down and got right into the frozen boys face, whose eyes were opened wide. Understandable, since very few people were this close to a half-human half-youma in their lives.

"Hey darling! What's a cute lil boy like you doing all alone in this cold forest? Waiting for a babe to come by and sweep you off your feet?" Helen's words were spoken in a seductive whisper that usually left her victims shaking with a mixture of fear and arousal.

Instead of fear or embarrassment, the fire of recognition shone in his eyes and the next moment Helen found herself unexpectedly caught in a hug from the human. "Thank God I met you!" he whispered and drew his arms around Helen tighter still.

"Hey hey, wait a moment buster!" Helen exclaimed, clearly trying hard to come to terms with this unexpected turn of events. "This is no way to treat a lady you just met! Let's get a room at least"

Finally realizing what he was doing, the youth sprung back like burned. "Sorry about that; I'm just so glad I met you like this!"

"Why are you glad to meet us? Humans fear our kind. It is illogical for you to seek us out willingly, unless you need a youma slain?"

"Oh… right. Guess for you guys I'm just another human, easy to forget. ", The boy rubbed his head nervously. "We met a few months back, when Claire brought me along to your meeting before you went hunting that Voracious Eater."

A light bulb lit up over Helen's head. "Ahh, now I remember: Claire's boytoy. Let me guess, she threw you away when you couldn't keep up with her appetite, eh?"

Several emotions flittered over his face too fast to follow, before his expression settled into forced calmness. "Claire didn't throw me away! We got separated because another Claymore was trying to kill her. She said she would win and find me again."

Naturally Helen snorted. "Warriors are not allowed to kill each other. I'll stay with my theory."

"Can you describe the warrior she was fighting?" Deneve asked, deciding to give the boy the benefit of the doubt.

In response, he drew his sword and carved a symbol into the hard packed soil.

"That was her symbol. You use these to identify each other, right?"

Deneve nodded numbly while Deneve inclined her head slightly. '_Ophelia'_ They thought simultaneously '_Miria warned us about her.'_

"With that warrior, a fight is possible. Still, you were separated. What concern is that of ours?"

"I trust Claire, but you guys know a way to contact other warriors, right? I wanted to ask you how that works so I could get to her myself." The youth was almost giddy from the thought.

"You are mistaken. A warrior goes were she is told to go. While the organization has the means to contact and track each of us, we cannot find each other as easily. Usually we only meet by chance or when gathering for a big hunt."

"Oh…." The boy slumped , only to straighten up again. "..Then, are you guys on a way to some kind of hunt? Maybe I can…."

"No." Deneve said with conviction. "You will slow us down unnecessarily."

The boy gaped liked a fish.

"Good luck, finding our comrade."

With these parting words she left him standing in the middle of the forest, Helen quickly hurrying to her side.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?"

"Claire has come across Number 4 and they were fighting." Deneve swallowed the lump in her throat. "While her fighting potential is several times higher then her rank suggests, she does not stand a chance against a single digit. That boy is better of thinking she will come back instead of learning the truth."

Both of them knew what that statement implied and the spent a few moments in respectable silence.

"SHIT!" Helen rubbed her eyes furiously, the sleeves of her uniform coming away wet.

Deneve did not comment. '_Tears shed for a companion are no shame.'_

She did not bother to wipe away the stray tears that escaped her own eyes.

Further back on the dirt road Raki was finally getting his brain back in working order, which had crashed after Deneve's harsh refusal.

Seeing the Claymore's figures already vanishing in the distance he forced his legs to a brisk pace.

They had refused to take him along, but that did not mean he could not follow.

A slight smile quirked his lips, when he remembered that he had been in a similar situation with Claire before. Back then, he had collapsed and Claire had come back to safe him.

Still, it was not the same. Back then, the desert hat been scorching hot and he was not used to travelling long distances by foot. Now, it was merely cold, which was unpleasant but not deadly if he managed to warm up on a fire soon, and travelling with Claire he had learned to keep up a good pace.

'_I will stick to them like a leech, whether they want it or not!'_

That mental exclamation was quickly followed by a wince, when one of his healing wounds protested the pace the Claymores were setting for him.

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4 days later

"He's still behind us. What the hell does he want to accomplish with this?"

"I assume he wants to follow us all the way to our destination in hopes of finding Claire there….He is a desperate man grasping at straws." As if to underline her words, Deneve picked up the pace, which was already brutally fast for a human, some more.

If Helen noticed, she did not comment on it and merely kept pace.

They walked in silence for nearly an hour, until a muted thump drew their attention. Looking back the way they came revealed the human lying in the middle of the path, his strength having obviously failed him.

"He collapsed. What are we supposed to do now?"

"If he dies, it will not be our fault. The organization should not have a problem with us leaving him here." Deneve said, intentionally not answering Helen's question, because her own feelings were ambivalent.

"No,no,no, not gonna happen.", Helen shook her head decisively "I don't know about you, but even if there is only a small chance that Claire made it, I sure as hell don't want to explain to her why we left her boy toy passed out in the wilderness."

Deneve looked unconvinced, but a part of her was relieved that Helen had taken the decision out of her hands.

"Seriously, you need to loosen up Deneve." Helen rolled her eyes "I'm not asking you to marry him. All we have to do is walk slower than usual and maybe get him something to eat. In return I can have some fun at his expense."

Heaving a resigned sigh, Deneve gestured to the fallen human. "Have it your way. Just know that it will be your responsibility to take care of him."

"Yay, this is gonna be fun!"

A smirk stretching from one ear to the other Helen quickly ran up to the prone boy and nudged him with her foot." You still alive?"

With no reaction forthcoming she nudged him a little harder. Seeing how that did not produce any results, she kneeled and rolled him over.

He was ice cold to the touch.

"He's suffering from hypothermia. How are we supposed to get him warm?"

Helen's question was intended for her own ears, but Deneve had gotten the gist of it when she came near. "We have no means to keep him warm. If you want him to survive, you need to get back to the last village and get some thick clothing for him."

Helen nodded in understanding. As half-youma they could regulate their body-temperature and did not carry coats or blankets as a result. "Even if I go at full speed it will take 6 hours to get there and come back. Will he survive that long?"

"Do not worry, I will stay with him."

Taking Deneve's reassurance as her cue to leave, Helen ran back the way they came.

Once she was out of sight, the remaining warrior looked down at the boy and frowned. "You are already making trouble for me." She grumbled and picked the slight boy up effortlessly.

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The first thing Raki became aware of was the warmth. After 4 days of being outside in thin and torn clothes while the temperatures were slowly but surely sinking to subzero it was like a slice of heaven. Trying to get more than just a slice, he tried to snuggle even closer to the source of heat at his back.

"Are you awake?"

The words were spoken calmly but intruded upon his psyche nonetheless. He did not want to keep Claire waiting and forced himself awake. Once he blinked his eyes open, several important facts filtered into his mind.

He was sitting in someone's lap, leaning back against them and their arms were wrapped loosely around his midriff. A white cloak covered him from the freezing winds and helped to keep their combined body heat contained.

'_The last thing I remember is this terrible cold. What happened? Claire isn't…?...Who?' _Trying to find an answer to at least one question he twisted his head.

Exotic silver eyes watched him, not 20 centimetres from his own. "Welcome back to the living."

Finally, he realized their close proximity and for an instant he thought about bolting, but then the bone deep weariness he had felt before passing out caught up to him and he leaned his head back, letting it rest against her shoulder.

"Can you tell me your name again?" he asked, the heat from her body helping to ease any anxiety he may have had.

"I am called Deneve. My comrade is called Helen." The shorthaired woman answered in a clipped tone that stood in contrast to their proximity. "And what may I call you? Or is 'Claire's boy toy' your official name?"

Raki chuckled slightly at the jibe. "I'm Raki."

Introduction over, the two of them fell silent. Sharing body heat with a person he barely knew in the middle of nowhere, Raki could not remember a time when he felt more comfortable.

"Hey Deneve." Raki said after a few minutes, his voice heavy. "Thanks for saving me" Moments later he was asleep once again.

Deneve was left staring at the side of his head, wondering why these simple words made her feel so good. Had not dozens of villagers thanked her for saving them from a youma? Their thanks had not mattered in the slightest. So why was this different?

'_Because his Thanks are genuine'_ She realized and hugged the sleeping boy tighter, a smile tugging at her lips, the irritation she had felt ever since she had shared her body heat with this stranger forgotten for the moment.

A few minutes later she joined him in Morpheus' lands

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An hour after Helen's return all three of them were sitting around a middle sized campfire. Helen had returned to find both Raki and Deneve still sleeping. Surprisingly she had not said anything on the matter and merely woke them up.

Once that was done Raki was quick to put on the clothes she had brought him, thanking them profusely.

Afterwards it was a matter of minutes before the boy had started a fire, obviously well versed in doing so.

Once he had fished building the heat, Raki sat down to warm up.

Deneve, judging it prudent to get several things out in the open sooner, rather then later, gestured to the heap of torn clothing Raki had been wearing.

"How did your clothes end up in such a pitiful state?"

Raki startled slightly, obviously having been lost in thought. "That Claymore Clare was fighting." He paused a moment. "What is her name anyway? I know you guys don't like being called that."

"Her name is Ophelia." Deneve supplied.

"Ophelia…" The boy said, testing the name on his tongue. "She was playing with us. With Claire and me, I mean. We were supposed to meet up with her for a hunt, but she turned on us. 'If I kill both of you, no one will be there to tell on me' she said… After hacking off Claire's legs", He paused, obviously having trouble stomaching that particular memory "she played with me, sliced me up like I was some kind of toy. That's why my clothes look like that."

After that, he fell silent and Helen started tapping her foot. Exactly 15.4 seconds later her patience ran out. "So, what happened afterwards? Don't leave us hanging like that. How come you're still alive?"

Helen loved a good story and hated to be left hanging. Deneve would have chuckled at her typical reaction, but had to admit that Raki being alive after crossing blades with a Claymore that intended to kill was a miracle, even if she had only been playing.

Once again startled by Helen's outburst Raki took a deep breath and told them about the appearance of the Awakened, the subsequent flight and their parting, while having the good sense to omit the 'personal' moment he had shared with Claire.

Deneve leaned back against her sword, trying to think of a way Claire could have survived in a situation like that.

She came up empty.

"You realize, that Claire did not stand a chance of winning against number 4, don't you?" Raki gave a miniscule nod that Deneve barely caught, and she decided to forge ahead. "Then you understand that she is most likely dead."

It was a statement, not a question.

Raki stood up abruptly, taking a single angry step in her direction.

"Don't talk about her like that!" he shouted. "Claire will find a way. I refuse to believe anything else unless I see her dead body! She promised to find me again. There's no way she would die in a fight!"

Deneve marvelled at the boy, not intimidated in the slightest, but impressed. It was obvious he knew, on an intellectual level, that Claire's chances of survival were zero, but he still had faith she would pull through.

The effect of Raki's rant was ruined a moment later when his stomach rumbled to protest it's empty state, causing Helen to chuckle.

"I think I'm starting to understand why Claire kept you around." She said, while standing up. "I'll catch some deer. Don't want our entertainment starving, after all."

While Helen vanished into the woods, Deneve considered their newest travelling-companion.

Even with his outburst, it was clear that worry was gnawing at him and with good reason.

"You have fought a Claymore and met an awakened being" she said, without meaning to. "To survive through that, you are extraordinarily lucky. Maybe that luck will hold out and you can meet Claire again."

It was a false hope, Deneve suspected, but when Raki gave her a grateful look and whispered a "Thanks", Deneve knew telling him was the right thing to do.

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"Why do you want to learn how to fight?" Helen asked curiously after watching Raki swing his sword for 10 minutes.

The boy whirled around in surprise, a blush gracing his features. He had left their camp to practice, too embarrassed to do so in front of two professionals. He knew that his bumbling attempts at swordplay must have looked laughable to a Claymore.

"I just want to learn how to defend myself. I don't want to be a burden to Claire, she shouldn't have to watch out for me all the time."

Helen considered the boy silently. His answer was surprisingly sensible and realistic. He had not spouted any rubbish about protecting Claire or some such. Still…

"That's all nice and good, but what do you want to accomplish swinging around that toothpick of yours?"

"I know I don't have a clue about fighting, you don't have to rub my face in it, you know?"

"I was not talking about that. I was talking about your sword. If you hang around with a Claymore the only thing you have to fear is a youma. Do you really think your toothpick will help you against one of them?"

Raki looked at her wide eyed? "A youma? I only wanted to defend myself from animals or bandits…there is no way I can fight a youma!"

Helen snorted. "What you want hardly matters to a youma."

Raki grit his teeth. "Fine, you're right. But what do you expect me to do?"

In response, Helen drew her Claymore and threw it to the ground. "Learn to fight with this."

Raki shifted his gaze between the oversized sword and its wielder several times, trying to discern if she was joking.

She was not.

"I can't do that. A sword like yours is too big for me, even I know that!" he shouted.

"From the way you were dogging our heels these past 4 days, I would have thought you had more guts than this." Helen said condescendingly "Seems like you're just another whiny brat instead."

Raki's anger flared for a moment, but he reigned himself in. He would show her whiny, even if this whole endeavour was ridiculous. "Fine, you want me to learn with a bigger sword, I will!"

Stepping up to the huge sword Raki kneeled down and gripped the handle tightly. Pushing upwards with all his might he strained against the immense weight of the blade, but the tip only barely left the ground.

After half a minute of trying he gave up, and the sword landed back on the ground with a soft thump. His arms and his back were already complaining from his efforts and he realized once again how big the gulf that existed between a Claymore and a human was, if they could walk around with that much weight so effortlessly.

Dropping to the ground he sighed resignedly. "Sorry, but I can't even lift that."

Expecting another rude remark from Helen, he was surprised when she bent down and flashed him a bright smile. "I knew that. For now, all you have to do is trying to lift it. While technique is very important when fighting, building up solid strength is very important as well. And believe me, once you can lift this, a human Claymore should not be any problem for you at all."

Standing back upright Helen flashed him another smile, this one a little mischievous, and ruffled his hair. "I'll leave you alone now, but don't overdo it." With these parting words Helen vanished between the thin line trees, which separated the small clearing he was practicing in from their camp...if it could be called that.

Drawing the coat Helen had bought for him a little tighter around his form, Raki regarded the Claymore thoughtfully. '_I don't really understand'_ He thought, his hands closing around the handle once again. '_But I have a feeling I can trust you, Helen.'_

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3 weeks later

Deneve made her way back to their current campsite in a bad mood. Raki had been travelling with them the entire time and as a result they had lost 2 or 3 days worth of travel time. This did not overly bother Deneve, though, because her handler had made it clear that some warriors came from even further south and would most likely arrive 1 week after her.

They had plenty of time.

No, her bad mood stemmed from the fact, that this far north, with only 3 or 4 days to go until they reached Pieta, the wildlife became rather sparse and hidden. While that had been true the previous days as well, nature had seemed to conspire against her this time around and it had taken her the better part of 2 hours to hunt down a small family of mammals whereas such an endeavour took a mere 20 minutes normally.

Once she neared their campsite the faint sound of steel clashing with steel reached her ears.

Normally a cause for alarm, the routine they had established let her know that it was only Raki practicing with Helen.

Nonetheless she sped up. It would not do for Raki to be all tired out when she came back.

The moment she stepped into the clearing, Helen's eyes were upon her.

"Finally. I thought I was going to starve over here. What took you so long?" She asked in an overdramatic fashion while casually blocking one of Raki's strikes.

One week back, Helen had decided it was time for Raki to get his own sword and promptly bought him one from local blacksmith. The blade, a human Broadsword, was as long as their Claymores, but only two thirds as thick and broad.

Deneve did not know a lot about human swords, but she figured Raki's new weapon was probably the largest thing a fully grown human male could wield proficiently. As such, even though it was by far lighter then her own Claymore; it was still far too heavy for Raki.

Because of this, it was all Raki could do to swing the sword without stumbling or falling, much less use any kind of technique or fighting style.

Forcing her thoughts back to the present, Deneve let the 3 gophers she had caught fall to the ground. "I caught them, you prepare them." She said without acknowledging Helen's question.

Grateful for the break, Raki lowered his sword and gestured to the small mammals. "I'm….huff…supposed to be your cook...huff…Shouldn't that be my part?"

"No!" the forceful answer both Claymores directed at him stunned Raki for a moment.

"But ….this is the only thing I can do. You bought clothes for me and a new sword…if I can't even cook for you; I'm not doing anything useful!"

"It is not important. Your swordplay on the other hand, needs all the work it can get." Deneve retorted. "Helen, please get to work, I'll take over."

"Guess I don't have another choice, if I want to eat something today, right?"

Deneve gave a clipped nod and Helen sighed. "The things I do for a decent meal" she said with a theatrical tone and sheathed her sword, instead pulling out a small dagger to work on their meal.

Stepping up to Raki, Deneve drew her blade. "Stop daydreaming and come at me."

The boy, obviously peeved that he could not do the one thing he perceived as useful, brought the sword down in a strong arch, almost like he had not trained the past two hours.

'_Remarkable, even dead on his feet, he can still swing with his full power.'_

Understandably this burst of power was short lived and soon his strikes became slow and sluggish. Still, slow as they were, the improvement was clear when compared to their first session almost a week ago. Soon, she once again lost herself in the simple pleasure of teaching.

For her, that was worth far more, than a well prepared meal.

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Author's notes:

Yes, I'm back, but don't get your hopes.  
While writing is actually fun at the moment and I have a bunch of chapters already finished, I don't make any promises to finishing, because I saw how that turned out last time.

Nonetheless I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had with writing and hope you leave some constructive comments.

Mastermage


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Reunion

When they reached the town of Pieta 4 days later, for the first time in memory, Deneve regretted that the journey was over. Travelling with a human companion had brought her a little more in touch with her human side and she liked the feeling that gave her.

While walking through the main street to the tavern they were supposed to meet at, Helen and Deneve could feel the nervous stares of the citizens. No doubt, the arrival of so many warriors at once made them more then a little uneasy.

But they ignored it easily, being used to such things, and marched on, Raki always behind them.

Soon the inn came into view, and Deneve entered boldly. The warm and slightly stale air that washed over her was a welcome change. While the freezing temperatures outside did not really bother a Claymore, it did not mean they found it pleasant to be out in such weather. The main room of the inn was big enough to house maybe 30 people without being packed, but currently only 7 others occupied the room.

Hair in shades of silver and silver-blond, along with the typical uniform identified them as other warriors. One of them was leaning against the bar, while the rest were seated around a table chatting.

"Hey, where the hell is the bartender? I want some ale!" Helen complained, after spotting the mugs standing on the table.

"The landlord of this inn was nice enough to leave the building in our hands, until we have dealt with the current crises." The lone warrior at the bar said, still keeping her eyes focused on the table.

Helen, Deneve and Raki took the words in, and translated them correctly: _He was too scared to stay around._

"Tsche…..then I'll get it myself." Helen proclaimed and marched behind the bar. She vanished for a few seconds, before coming up again, a mug in hand which was big enough to double as a bucket. "All right, this will do!"

Raki watched with a lifted eyebrow, as Helen filled the mug up to the brim and found herself a seat on the table the others were occupying. "Hey ladies, I hope you don't mind one more!"

"She really doesn't know the word moderation, does she?" the Raki whispered, not wanting anyone to hear.

"There are enough rooms here to house all the warriors who are supposed to come. Several have yet to arrive, so you may use which ever room you want." The lone Claymore spoke again and glanced at Raki once "There should be enough space so the boy can stay with you."

"Great. Does that mean I can use the kitchen and make something decent to eat?" Raki asked, obviously not realizing what the other Claymore was thinking.

"Yes, we are free to use everything as we see fit."

"That's the best news I've heard this month!" Raki crowed and hurried through the door leading into the kitchen

Once the youth was out of earshot, the other warrior gave Deneve a pointed look. "Our comrades at the table are a little ….excited…right now. I suggest you watch out for your property, if you do not want it broken by accident."

Property, meaning Raki in this case, Deneve knew. It was the logical conclusion to draw, after all. She herself had met a few of her comrades, who had kept a slave around for certain …things. With the amount of money the organisation gave its warriors, buying a slave from one of the various slave-traders was no problem at all, and greedy humans did not care who bought their slaves, as long as they paid well. While she herself found the practice detestable, she could understand why some of them did it. For a warrior, it was virtually the only way to have someone who would warm your bed.

Far more disturbing than this misunderstanding was the warning she had been given. Looking carefully she found that the Claymores sitting at the table were well and truly drunk. In light of the fact that half-youma are highly resistant to poison, and therefore to alcohol, it was an astonishing sight.

Still, Helen was there and Deneve doubted anything would happen. "I appreciate the warning." She said finally, not bothering to correct the misunderstanding. "If you will excuse me now, I will train a little before retiring. We did not get a lot of chances during our journey"

"You may do as you wish. Our mission has not yet started therefore we are free to do as we please."

Nodding her assent, Deneve stepped out of the tavern again and set of to the outskirts of town, intent on sharpening her skills.

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Raki hummed while stirring the big pot full of stew. He was warm, preparing something that was not plain meat and it looked like he was in the right place to have a realistic chance at meeting Claire. The day really could not get any better.

Raucous laughter drifted through the closed door from the next room and Raki smiled lightly. It was good, that the warriors could laugh like that, even with a big battle looming on the horizon. '_Heck. Its good that they can laugh at all...never thought I would hear a Claymore laugh like this.'_

The door to the kitchen was opened, the laugher from outside becoming louder for a moment, before it was shut again.

"What are ya doing in here, boy?"

Raki turned to the newcomer. It was a Claymore, regarding him suspiciously.

"I'm Raki." He introduced himself smiling. "I came here with Helen and Deneve. I'm working on dinner right now."

"I don't give a shit about food" she said, her suspicious look turning into a feral smile. "but I'm sure, you can entertain me otherwise."

It dawned on Raki that something wasn't quite right. The way she was speaking so loudly, yet still unclear; the unsteady gait. Then she stood before him, her breath washing over his face. The unmistakable stench of alcohol flooded into his nostrils and he realized that she was drunk.

Drunk meant unpredictable, and for a moment Ophelia slipped into his thoughts.

His smile slipped a little.

The Claymore moved her left leg right between his own legs and took another step forward pressing him against the counter with her body flush against his own. "What are you…" Raki tried to say but the woman interrupted him.

"Shut up. I'm not here to talk." The next moment, he found her lips pressed against his. The counter was digging into his back and her steely grip on his jaw felt like she tried to bruise him intentionally.

He tried to jerk away, but in response the hand holding his head in place gripped him so hard that he felt like his jaw was breaking and all thoughts of resisting fled his head.

Raki was 14, he knew about sex, even if he did not know how to go about it. And despite the pain his captor inflicted on him, certain parts of his body reacted to the beautiful woman who was doing her best to fuse their heads together.

"And here I thought you didn't want to play!" She hissed, no doubt feeling his hardness. "My name's Claudia by the way...so you know what to scream later!"

Before he could protest, she had captured his lips again while her free hand snaked between them and into his trousers, grabbing a hold of him.

Despite himself, Raki moaned at the pleasant sensation, only to scream into the mouth covering his own, when she squeezed him HARD.

"Get your hands off him!" A familiar voice barked and Claudia's lips left his for a moment.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I only want one round."

Raki blinked and suddenly found the tip of a Claymore only two inches from his face, its edge pressing into Claudia's neck. "I'm not repeating myself."

Claudia withdrew her hands reluctantly and Raki sagged in relief. His jaw and crotch were throbbing painfully, but the pain was dimming somewhat.

"Now get that beer you wanted to fetch. And don't even think of even looking at him again." The tone his rescuer used was perfectly level but the implied threat made Raki's sweat slightly, even though it was not directed at him.

Claudia seemed to realize that it was not a joke, despite her drunkenness, and stepped away from him slowly, revealing Helen behind her, who was looking seriously pissed. "What the hell is wrong with you Helen? You've never been that stuck up."

Helen deigned not to answer, knowing that reasoning with a drunk was a lost cause, and instead glared at her comrade so intensely that Raki was convinced Claudia would burst into flame. The Claymore did no such thing though, and simply vanished into the cellar.

Once Claudia was gone Helen sheathed her sword cursed. "Shit, I should have known something like this would happen. Now my buzz is all gone!"

Raki swept his gaze over the meal he was preparing moments ago and shivered.

Somehow, he did not feel like cooking anymore.

Picking up on his mood, Helen gently laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, we'll get you into bed."

Basking in the familiar presence that was unmistakeably _Helen_, Raki could not help but smile faintly, as she guided him out of the tavern towards their room, the terror of his recent encounter fading away.

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The room Helen, Deneve and Raki were staying in was originally intended for only one person, meaning there was only one bed. That was largely unimportant, though, because the two half youma had no problem simply sleeping on the wooden ground.

The first night they had told him to take the bed and went to sleep on the cold floor, he had felt sheepish for being the only one to indulge like that. Once he had learned that the other Claymores even left the beds unused in favour of the floor, Raki stopped feeling so bad about it.

On this particular morning, he was happy that the bed was his. After the events last night, he did not want to face the day. The soft mattress and the warm covers helped with that immensely.

The sun had gone up several hours ago and yet Raki was still in bed, even though he had been awake since Deneve and Helen had left to train in the morning.

Again and again, he replayed the scene from the day before; the dull throb in his jaw, which was no doubt colouring nicely by now, made sure of that.

Up to that point, he had learned a lot about Claymores and their behaviour, mostly through Claire. Even though they were half-youma, they were kind, scared, sad and happy….just like humans.

Ophelia had been none of those, of course, and thinking back to the way her eyes had sparkled while she sliced him up slowly made him shiver. She was simply crazy.

In comparison, the way Claudia had forced him to do her bidding seemed very tame…even if it was painful. Yet, it scared him far more than Ophelia had. Maybe it was because he had felt safe yesterday, while he knew that following Claire around was dangerous? Maybe it was the lucid look in her eyes, which stood in stark contrast to Ophelia's crazy raving?

He did not know.

The only thing he knew was that he had to get a grip, before he could go out of his room and face a Claymore without going to pieces.

When someone knocked on the door, Raki stiffened and stayed silent. Helen and Deneve would not bother to knock, and no one but another Claymore would want to talk with them.

Hopes of the unwanted guest leaving were dashed when the door was opened, while a soft feminine voice said. "I'm coming in"

Raki recognized his visitor before she had stepped fully into the room.

It was Claudia.

His uninvited guest closed the door behind her with an ominous click and the feeling of helplessness from the day before rushed over him without warning.

He was prepared for everything…rape, a beating…even being murdered seemed possible to his feverish mind, despite the fact that Claymores were forbidden to do that.

Raki was not prepared for Claudia to sweep into a bow, so deep that her head reached her knees. "I realized you may not want to listen to me." She started solemnly. "Yet, I feel that I have wronged you gravely yesterday and must apologize. I would like to blame my actions solely on my state of mind at that moment, but I know that would be lying."

Only now did Claudia rise from her bowed position, to look right at Raki. On any other day, Raki would have seen the real regret in her eyes. "There is nothing I can do to reverse my actions, but if you so wish, I shall assist you with whatever you want to repent for my sins."

Anxiously, the warrior woman awaited Raki's reaction.

Raki, having felt powerless up to that moment, found Claudia a welcome target to lash out against to vent his pent up feelings. In an instant his fear turned to anger.

Anger loosened his tongue and out poured everything he never wanted to say.

"You want to assist me?" he asked scathingly. "The only thing you are good for is killing, drinking and raping! I don't need or want that kind of help!"

The Claymore did not contradict his claim, only spurring Raki on.

"You're no better than a Youma! Being ruled by your desires! Leave me alone you monster! You want to do something for me?"

"GO DIE SOMEWHERE!" His last words were screamed in a raw voice that was loud enough to rattle the windows.

Claudia bowed her head, making it impossible for him to see her eyes, but her trembling lips left no doubt in his mind that his last words had hit home.

Without saying another word, she opened the door and left, shutting it behind her with nary a sound.

The ensuing silence was only broken by his rapid breathing and thundering heart.

Raki, still heady from the mix of anger, fear and hate that coursed through his body, did not care. He gloated to himself how he had verbally abused the conscience stricken Claymore and could not help but think the world a brighter place because of it.

Deep down, crushed by negative emotions, his soul was weeping…..

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Claire and Jean silently made their way along the snow covered road. The duo had been travelling for several weeks now and Pieta was finally in sight. The town lay in a small valley, created by the middle sized river that wound around the southern edge of the town. The two of them had entered the valley from the south, giving them a perfect view of the town, the surrounding flats and the majestic mountains rising farther to the north.

When Claire stopped a moment to take in the great view, Jean did likewise without uttering a word. Whether her silence stemmed from the fact that she wanted to appreciate the view as well, or simply did not care for the small delay, Claire did not know.

Over the past two weeks Claire had learned that the single digit who had sworn her life to her was a very taciturn sort. Jean only spoke when necessary or when spoken to.

Essentially, she was a lot like Claire in that regard.

'_I miss Raki's rambling' _Claire thought sadly. She could still remember the first days she had travelled with him and how his talking had bothered her. Back then, she would have laughed at anyone if he told her she would miss it.

Now though….

Claire cut that thought off, knowing that it would not do her any good. She started marching again, her pace a little faster than before.

Not even 5 minutes later, distant voices reached her ears. They sounded happy, like playing children.

Once the youma came, that would change, but it was not her concern. She marched on.

"…op th…len!" The voice was getting closer fast. Something about it tickled her brain.

Paying no mind, Claire continued on.

"You can't hit me with that! Are you crazy??"

_That voice! _ Her head swivelled into the direction of the sound involuntary. _It can't be!_

"Stop that Helen!" Whoever it was, he was very close now.

Two seconds later a boy burst out of the shrubbery 10 feet down the road. Following in his wake was a snowball that was easily the same size as him and travelling nearly twice as fast.

With a muffled thump the huge mass of snow hit him, throwing the boy down and burying his midsection in a snowy prison.

Claire stared at the scene incomprehensively.

Lying on the ground in front of her, only his face and legs not covered in snow, Raki was grinning like an idiot.

RAKI was grinning like an idiot.

That fact bounced around in her skull a few more times, until her vocal cords finally received the necessary input.

"Raki?"

"That'll teach you to drop snow into my clothes. The mighty Helen once again wins a decisive battle!"

Dragging her eyes to the person who had obviously hurled the oversized snowball, Claire stared some more.

"Helen?"

Her second exclamation was loud enough to get their attention and both of the stared at her, like they had seen a ghost. Claire imagined her own face looked somewhat similar.

For a moment no one moved.

"Claire!" Shouting her name in a way that was just like she remembered Raki burst from his temporary prison, spraying snow in all directions. Quickly covering the small distance separating them he threw his arms around her, burying his head in her chest and hugging her tightly.

Still not quite believing it, Claire reciprocated the action, drawing him closer. Her nostrils flared when she recognised his unique scent.

To her right Jean was still silent, but her eyes were asking a million questions.

In front of her Helen looked ready to burst.

A part of her wondered what the hell the other half-youma had been doing with Raki.

Yet, the only thing that mattered was that Raki was once again with her.

'_Just a little longer' _she begged silently, while holding the boy.

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Half an hour later the four of them sat around a cozy table in the back of the tavern the town had provided for the Claymores.

Because it was only one hour past noon, they were the only ones around, the other Claymores either outside training or in their rooms.

Raki and Claire had been staring at each other for nearly two minutes, neither saying a word, when Helen's patience ran out. "I don't know what the two of you are trying to accomplish by staring at each other like this, but last I heard getting naked required the use of ones hands."

"I see your humor is as crude as ever Helen." Claire said unfazed, though she was secretly glad the other warrior had spoken. Every time she looked at Raki she remembered their kiss…and it made her tongue-tied.

It had seemed the right thing to do in the heat of the moment, to convince him to leave.

In hindsight, kissing a 14 year old boy had not been the smartest thing she had done in her life.

Raki, who was blushing bright red, seemed a little torn. He looked at her, then at Jean and Helen.

Finally he shook his head, deciding to let the matter rest for the moment. "I guess Helen is right…now that we've found each other again we might as well make the most of it. So, how did you make it out of that fight? I wanna know aaaaaall the details"

Claire smiled lightly. Whatever happened over the last months…Raki seemed more upbeat then ever. "Why don't you start instead? It seems you somehow ended up meeting Helen, surely there is an interesting story behind that?"

"Sure. I don't think it is very interesting, though. After we…parted…"

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1 month prior

Raki sighed deeply, while trying to get more comfortable in the cramped space.

He was currently riding in a caged carrier together with 20 other children. The cage ceiling was so low, that standing upright was impossible. As such everyone had opted to sit down. That position was only marginally better, because even with their knees drawn to their chests, Raki and the little girl sitting on the 'seat' opposite of him had to entwine their legs to manage.

None of the children spoke.

The little girl, she looked no older than 11, had been crying the last few minutes.

She had peed herself and was hideously embarrassed.

Yet, it was not an uncommon occurrence.

They were travelling in a small caravan consisting of another caged carrier and two coaches, one in front and one in the back.

A small regiment of 20 mercenaries was marching with them to make sure no child could escape. Despite that the children were not allowed to leave the cages during the short stops they made during the day.

Only when they were given some food in the morning and in the evening could they take care of their urges.

Needless to say, the cages smelled horrible.

When her wailing got louder one of the guards, the captain to be precise, rattled the cage with his sword, making all of them wince.

"Shut up little brat, or I'll cut out that tongue of yours."

Her wailing immediately stopped, and she continued whimpering silently.

Raki himself had been caught by the slavers nearly three weeks ago, just after he had left a small town with a sculpture of the twin-goddesses.

Of course, he had tried to defend himself, but his sword-skill was useless when faced with 20 fully armed men, and he was quickly subdued.

The following days had been horrible, and Raki had to wonder whether humans were even more horrible than Youma. The captain, Ribald, delighted in beating on them for every little offence, real or imagined, and especially Raki as one of the oldest was one of his favourite targets.

Still, by now he had gotten more or less used to the inhuman way they were treated.

In the coach travelling behind them the fat asshole that had captured him was once again playing with Raki's sword.

Raki entertained a brief fantasy of running the slave-trader through.

His fantasy was broken by the scream of a guard. An arrow sticking out of his chest, the man went down.

"BANDITS!" someone shouted.

Moments later his surroundings erupted in chaos. With a battle cry nearly 2 dozen men broke out of the tree line to be met head-on by the guards.

Squeezed into the cage as he was, Raki watched in rapt fascination as human scum fought human scum, hoping they would kill each other to the last man. He had no illusions concerning what would happen with the kids when the bandits won. Most likely they would be killed, raped or both.

Another guard fell, this one stumbling against their cage with his back first.

The chain with the keys glinted for a moment and without even realizing it Raki lunged, hitting his head on the low cage in the process.

His hand caught the chain just as the man sank to the ground. The weight was almost enough to rip it from his hands, but he held on, winding his other hand around the key.

Below him the little girl was screaming again.

Raki ignored her, his instincts intent on keeping him alive. The chain rattled against the metal bars of their cage with each tug he made.

Finally the one of the links broke and he stumbled back, once again hitting his head.

After shaking off the slight case of vertigo, Raki did not waste any time in opening the door.

He jumped out of the cramped quarters and took stock of the situation. Both sides were still busy fighting; no one had yet seen his escape.

It was the perfect moment to run away from his captors.

'_Not without the sword, though.' _He thought, while watching the carriage bringing up the rear trying to turn around.

The rat bastard who had captured him tried to leave the battle!

He had a clear view of the cabin through the side-window, easily making out the frightened face of the slave-trader.

Raki's prized sword was clutched in his fat fingers. The sight brought his blood to the boiling point. In his rage, he spied a fist sized rock on the road and quickly picked it up. The slave-traders eyes widened when he drew his arm back

'_Not as nice if you're on the receiving end, eh?'_ Raki thought spitefully and hurled his makeshift-weapon with all his might.

The rock shattered the window in a shower of sparks, before striking the trader right between the eyes.

His girly scream of pain was heard even over the shouting and fighting going on all around.

While the slaver was still dazed Raki quickly opened the door, intent on getting his sword back. The man, barely conscious was still gripping it tightly tough.

Raki did not mind in the least. It just gave him more reason to punch his tormentor. The man's nose broke with a satisfying crack, finally sending him to the land of dreams.

After he extracted his sword, Raki entertained the notion of finishing the guy off, but the bandits had been pushed back and order was returning. Flight was more important.

Even while he raced towards the trees, he caught sight of the little girl out of the corner of his eye. She was trying to reach the trees as well, running right by one of the last fights going on.

The guard, it was captain Ribald, slit his opponent's throat just as she was even with them.

Moments later the blade split her blonde head right down the middle.

The gruesome sight was enough to make him pause. He felt bile rising in his throat.

Ribald was grinning like a maniac. His eyes seemed to say '_I killed her, so what are you gonna do about it?'_

Raki forced his gaze away from the monster in human form and vanished into the woods.

He did not stand a chance against the man…'_but that will change…and when we meet again, you will pay!'_

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"…After that I ran through the woods for two hours straight. Ironically that scratched me up more then everything else. And after that, I ran into two stubborn Claymores who were on their way to Pieta. That about sums it up" Raki finished his story, trying to make light of his tale with a little joke, and failing miserably.

After a few seconds of silence, Helen whistled. "Damn kid! I can't decide whether you are the luckiest guy on earth or the most unlucky. First you stumble over a crazy Claymore and get away alive, and then you get captured by slave-traders and somehow manage to escape."

"Truly, for a human, you are living an interesting life." Jean added, finding the story interesting enough to warrant some kind of response.

"I guess so, but I sure wouldn't mind if it was a little more boring. Anyway, it's your turn now Claire. What happened after I was gone?"

"Nothing much. Ophelia easily overpowered me, but someone saved me at the last second. After that I started looking for you, got a little side-tracked and met Jean. I'm here now because the organisation sent for me." Claire summarized, keeping several important facts like meeting Irene and acquiring a new arm to herself.

Unsurprisingly her dry accounting left Raki a little unsatisfied. "If you don't want to talk about it you should just say so Claire. I don't mind."

"C'mon Claire! Give us a little more to work here with. What exactly got you side-tracked? And why is Jean here following after you like a lost puppy." Needless to say, that comment came from Helen.

If Helen's barb bothered her, Jean hid it very well. Nonetheless, Claire felt that it was uncalled for. "It is enough for now, Helen. I may tell you the whole story some other time. For now I would like to get settled in."

Following her remark, Claire stood up and marched towards the door, snatching one of the remaining keys for a room along the way.

Before she opened the door, though, another Claymore poked her head in. "Everyone, please gather in front of the fountain on the market. It seems everyone has arrived now."

A foreboding feeling of dread gripped everyone for a moment.

Things were about to get serious.

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Author's notes:

oO

For whatever reason, ate my Author's notes the first time around and I didn't notice.  
Anyway, it's not like I have much to say about this chapter. You guys should thank Hamstadini, because he helped me to turn my choppy writing into something redeable. Aside from that, I fixed some minor things in chapter 1 that were a little OOC.

See you next chapter guys!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Aftermath

The morning after the invasion of Pieta Raki moved through the ruined town carefully. No matter where he went, half collapsed houses made travelling through the streets a slow and dangerous process.

Climbing over another piece of what might have once been part of a wall, he finally arrived at the market place.

The sight before him made his blood run cold.

As bad of as the town seemed over all, this was far worse. Almost all the buildings ringing the expansive open place had been turned to rubble. Some houses looked like they had literally been cleaved in half.

In several places the pristine snow had been soaked with enough blood to turn crimson.

Youma did not have red blood.

He clenched his hands tightly. When the combat groups had been assembled two days ago, Claire had told him to leave the town. He had headed her words and hid in a cave not too far from Pieta, even though every bone in his body had screamed to stay with her.

Now, confronted with the incredible devastation before him, Raki desperately hoped it had not been the wrong decision.

He moved across the expanse slowly, until he spotted movement to his left side.

His heart sung, when he spied 3 familiar forms standing in the middle of the street leading into the market place from the other side. His joyous greeting died in his throat though, when he took note of the woman kneeling on the ground between them, desponded.

He recognized her as the commander that had led the operation. Miria, if he remembered correctly. Claire bent down and rested a hand on her shoulder, but the words she spoke were lost to the wind.

Realizing that his presence may not be appreciated, Raki veered off to the south, away from them. He knew Claire, Helen and Deneve were safe and sound; that was enough.

For now, he would try to lend a helping hand to whoever may still be out there.

10 minutes later, he stumbled over the first corpse. The awakened was huge, easily the size of a house. Nonetheless it had been cleaved into several large chunks, only its head remained intact.

One of its head sized eyes was staring at him lifelessly from between the dull green scales that made up the entirety of its face.

Raki moved around it slowly, his boots squelching on the mix of half melted snow and purple blood that covered the whole street from side to side.

He was halfway around the head, taking great care not to touch the slick chunk of flesh behind his back, when she came into view.

First he saw her face, framed by her short silver hair.

Her eyes were empty, but somehow her face retained a determined look.

A gaping hole gave him an unobstructed view into the remaining half of her ribcage.

Bile rose in his throat and he stumbled backwards in horror, his hand sinking into the slimy flesh of the slain Awakened to steady himself. The disturbing sensation did not help though, and he quickly darted out from between the head and the other chunk of flesh, not caring that he touched both while doing so.

Closing his eyes, he forced the bile back down. Travelling with Claire had not taught him how to cope with human corpses, because the townsfolk usually took care of Youma victims long before they arrived. Nonetheless, his tolerance for horrid things had risen somewhat.

Sure that he had himself under control now, Raki turned back to the Claymore. From this angle, he could see that her legs where crushed under the huge head that had most likely bitten off her left side.

Only when he knelt down, did her features register.

It was Claudia.

The realization filled him with satisfaction for a moment. His own thoughts shocked him enough to make the feeling vanish.

Suddenly, he felt like a mountain had dropped onto his back

True, she had almost raped him when they had arrived in Pieta and he was scared and angry just thinking about it. But she had been drunk while doing so and the day after she had tried to sincerely apologize.

He had thrown her apology back in her face.

Over the last two days, he had thought about it and realized that his words had been far too harsh. He had planned to apologize in turn.

Now, that was impossible…

Dropping to his knees next to her head, unheeding of the blood soaking his pants, Raki felt several tears travel down his face.

He ignored them, though, and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. Her silver eyes were staring at him accusingly.

Even while he brushed his fingers over her eye lids to make her final rest a little more dignified, he did not know whether it was for her benefit or his own.

That day, Raki learned what guilt and regret truly meant.

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The day the war in the north ended was a dark day indeed. 24 brave warriors had set out to do the impossible…and they had failed. 24 brave warriors had fought with everything they had…and only 7 survived.

One little boy had sat in his cave, useless and unimportant.

He had survived

'_The world' _Raki decided '_isn't fair.'_

4 hours later the surviving Claymores, including Claire, Miria, Helen, Deneve, Yuma, Tabitha and Cynthia, had gathered all the swords of their fallen comrades.

Normally the fallen were buried with their swords as the marker, but this time too many warriors had been sliced to little peaces, or were missing completely, so they decided to simply build a little memorial out of town to honour their deaths.

The atmosphere was heavy and Raki, after finding what was left of two other Claymores after he had stumbled away from Claudia's accusing corpse, felt like crying.

He held it in though, because he felt that he did not deserve to do so.

He had not fought the Youma, while Claire and the others had.

He had not lost someone close to him, while Claire and the others had.

4 hours prior Miria had looked like the world had come to an end, but now she was standing before them as resolute as ever, projecting an aura of unbroken determination even though her uniform hung in tatters.

"I will not lie to you. The organisation has left us here to die, and if we return now, we will face severe punishment for failing our mission…assuming they are still around." Miria said, after Yuma dropped the last sword into the pile before her. "I have no intention of being their tool any longer. If you wish to return, though, I will not stop you."

No one made any indication of leaving and a brief smile crossed her lips. "Good…it pleases me to stay with all of you a little longer."

Finally, Uma raised her hand timidly. " Uhm, I know I don't want to go back, but what are we going to do now?"

Suddenly Raki saw a hint of steel entering Miria's eyes, as she gestured to the pile of swords at her feet. "Today we lost 17 friends and comrades to the Awakened. As the survivors, there is only one path for us to follow: Revenge, revenge on Isley of the north, so their souls may rest in peace."

As one they drew their swords and crossed them in their midst. "For revenge" The Claymores swore in unison, and Raki marvelled at the spectacle.

Beaten within an inch of their life, these seven woman were already prepared to take on the one who had sent 17 of their comrades to theirs graves with his actions.

That day, Raki witnessed the inner strength humans were capable of, demonstrated by seven half youma.

And he decided to make it his own.

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With the combined strength of 7 half youma, bringing the swords of the fallen out of the city to a more suited location was child play; Deneve thrust the last sword, belonging to Undine, into the hard packed soil only half an hour later.

The seven warriors regarded the small memorial site silently for a few minutes, while Raki kept a respectful distance still.

"This is all we can do for them." Miria spoke the first words anyone had uttered for over 30 minutes. "Let us move further north into the mountains. No one shall find us there, while we prepare ourselves for the next battle."

Putting words into action Miria started walking north and everyone followed silently…for a total of 6 steps. Hearing a the sound of 8 sets of feet hitting the ground instead of 7, Miria stopped and looked at Raki, who had quickly hurried to Claire's side after the 'burial' was done. "Why are you following us?"

Sensing that Miria did not like the thought of him coming along, Raki slipped his left arm possessively around Claire's waist. "Where Claire goes, I go."

Claire did not protest his words, or the arm around her waist, and Miria frowned slightly. "He is the boy you have brought with you when we first met, is he not?"

Claire gave a short nod, prompting Miria to continue. "You have left him behind back then, before the mission; you should do the same now. The north is harsh and cold and we do not know how many youma are left this far from civilization."

"I have left him once; I will not do so again." Claire stated with finality, while gently laying a hand on Raki's shoulder. "We will stay together."

At this point Tabitha, Yuma and Cynthia became a little nervous, thinking a confrontation on the matter imminent. To their great surprise, Miria only sighed explosively. "I suppose logic does not hold well against your stubbornness."

"Damn straight." Helen put in, jovial even after the day she had. "The only one who is more stubborn then Claire is the annoying guy she wants to drag along."

"Hey, I resent that! You're just saying that just because you have no spine yourself!" Raki was quick to counter, easily falling into the banter that had somewhat become the norm for him and Helen.

*pow*

*pow*

Wiping away the remains of the snowball, which had just hit her in the face, Helen glared at the offending party.

Deneve looked back innocently. "You know you should not start arguments Helen." Then she glanced sideways at Raki. "And neither should you, young man."

Raki , who had also been hit by Deneve's snowball of punishment, glanced at Helen and she winked back conspiratorially.

"Yes Mom!" They said in perfect sync.

In return Deneve gave a long suffering sigh. " Kids these days! No manners at all."

Miria and Claire watched the little exchange flabbergasted. _'Did Deneve just make a joke?'_ They thought unbelievingly. Tabitha, Cynthia and Yuma, who did not know Deneve nearly as well, merely chuckled at the display the others put on.

The group turned northwards again, their spirits considerably lifted, and Miria silently admitted to herself that having Raki around might actually be worth the trouble he would undoubtedly cause.

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Seven years later

Raki walked, more like stomped, really, into town in a very bad mood. '_Ditched again!'_ He ranted in his mind '_What the hell do they think I am? Some little kid?'_

His rational mind knew that was not the case. It was simply fact that any kind of fight with other Claymores and/or awakened beings was so far out of his league, it wasn't even funny. His emotions cared very little for that fact however, and were hard to reign in. His first impulse had been to immediately start the journey south, but he knew that with the speed Claire and the others were going, he would not be able to catch them, even by horse.

In the end, he was once again left behind, hoping his friends…and more….would return alive, just like 7 years ago.

'_Shit, this is driving me insane. I have to find something to do in the meantime!'_

In his quest for distraction, he soon stumbled upon the market. It was a rough rectangle 100 meters in length and maybe 120 meters across, marking it as one of the biggest ones Raki had ever laid eyes on.

And it was packed with people, leaving the rest of the town almost empty. '_Wonder what's going on._' He thought, as he made his way through the hollering crowds.

Finding a slightly less crowded place, he took in the scene. An area maybe two thirds as long and across as the whole market was relatively free of people, sectioned of into several small makeshift arenas. On the far side a stand had been erected, most likely for paying customers, who wanted to see the happenings more clearly.

While never having seen one himself, Raki knew the signs of a typical tournament when he saw them.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me what this is all about?" he asked the next best person, an old man who had seen better days.

"o cours lad! We be havin da yearly tournament. But you be a lil late, only da one on one duels are left now."

Raki cocked his head. '_One on one duels, huh? I think I'll stay; I have nothing better to do anyways.'_

"You be wantin in lad? If so, ya can still enter ova there." The old man said, pointing to a small booth on the other side of the fighting-area. Several armed men were in front of it, most likely also entering the competition.

Quickly thanking the old man, Raki made his way to the small booth to sign in. A chance like this, to test his skills without any real danger, was perfect for him. Using his Claymore was probably a bad idea, because wielding the half-youma weapon would draw unwanted questions he did not want to answer. That meant he could only use his long sword, which he was not nearly as well versed in.

'_Who cares?'_ He thought to himself eagerly. 'E_ven if I won't win, at least I can test my strength against someone who doesn't outclass me totally.'_

By then he had reached the booth, quickly getting in line to wait for his turn to sign in.

While waiting, his thoughts circled back to his companions. Maybe this hopefully short parting was good for him. After he had met Claire, Raki had always been up against people and monsters that were superior in every way and even though he knew it had to be that way, what with him being only human, it had gotten increasingly hard to hold onto any kind of confidence or pride in his ability.

Heck, even Yuma, who was supposedly the weakest warrior who had survived Pieta, could beat him one handed without breaking a sweat.

He did not even want to think about the fact that a Claymore became so much stronger when releasing her Yoki.

When it was his turn to pay the modest entry fee and give his name, Raki shook off his random thoughts and quickly did so, receiving his starting number in return.

15 minutes later Raki was standing outside one of the 6 fenced in areas, where the duels were held, squashed in between other spectators, who had been allowed to enter the middle of the market, once the rules were explained and all fighters had been assigned their starting arena. As it turned out 80 people had entered the competition, meaning during the first rounds a lot of fighters were sitting out, waiting their turn.

The rules had been very simple: Every fight was a knockout round, meaning who lost once, was out of the running. Every style of fighting was allowed, but inflicting serious injury was strictly forbidden. A bout was lost by forfeit or when the opponent got you in a tight spot you could not get out of.

Finally, the announcer for his ring called the first contestants to begin and Raki watched with anticipation. Both looked no older than 18 and had the typical looks of hardworking farmers. No doubt both of them were local youths, judging from the cheering all around.

Both of them did not move for a moment, instead holding their swords, both a little shorter than Raki's own long sword, at the ready.

On some unspoken signal they rushed each other and the fight was joined…

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Raki regarded his newest opponent carefully. The first bout he had watched between the two youths did not proof to be the exception, but the rule during all the fights following. The duellists were generally slow, inflexible and had very little in terms of real skill.

Raki had easily won all the matches up to this point, even though he was using only his long sword. Now that only 10 participants were left, he suspected that the skill shown would increase because the stronger fighters would not have to hold back so much.

Case in point, his newest opponent was giving him a bad feeling. He had overheard a few people talking about the man while watching his second fight and learned that he was facing the leader of the local town guard and the winner of the tournament for the past 3 years.

The man was burly, but had a friendly and open face. With the wrinkles around his eyes and the slightly greying hair Raki guessed him to be around 35. Overall it made him look like the perfect loving uncle or father. Yet, Raki felt nothing but bad vibes when being near him. Before the young man could contemplate this strange occurrence further, the announcer got their attention and motioned for the fight to start

"Good luck lad, you're gone need it." The man said in a good natured tone as he drew a middle sized blade.

"Same to you." Raki answered, forcing a smile on his face, even though every bone in his body tried to tell him that something was seriously wrong. '_Why the hell is that guy giving me the willies like that?' _He thought furiously while slowly advancing on his opponent. '_This isn't a life and death battle!'_

Nonetheless Raki decided to finish as quickly as possible. He had learned to trust his instincts over time, and if they told him to get away from that man it was what he would do.

5 fast steps brought him within range and Raki swung his sword in a downward arc from left to right, intent on forcing the man of balance.

Instead of stepping back to avoid the blow, his opponent deflected the attack to his right only negating the sideward motion of Raki's sword.

Quickly stepping left to avoid the retaliation, Raki grinned, the crawling dread from before forgotten for the moment.

This guy knew how to fight.

They fought back and forth evenly for several minutes, with Raki holding the advantage in speed and technique. An advantage his opponent made moot with superior strength. Several times the burly guy had forced Raki's swipes aside while his own blade at an awkward angle that should have made it impossible.

Blocking the other man's strikes had also proven to be a bad idea, because Raki had almost lost his footing the one time he tried.

As his opponent, who had gotten increasingly aggressive during the fight, rushed at him once again, Raki took a risk and ducked under the thrust for his head, instead of deflecting it. Flowing to a standing position inside his opponents guard he brought his sword up to rest against the other's neck. "Seems like I win." He said, not bothering to wipe the cocky grin from his face.

Suddenly the crawling sensation Raki had felt before the match, returned a hundred fold.

The man's face, only inches from his, had morphed into a deranged parody of human features. "Splendid" He rasped out in a guttural tone. "Even stronger than this one. I can't hold back any longer, I must fight you!"

The man convulsed for a moment and flesh started morphing from a pleasantly tanned brown to a sickly green. Muscles bulged outward and ripped the tunic which had contained them apart.

Raki stood in front of his worst nightmare, its maw dripping salvia, its eyes reflecting the unnatural hunger it felt.

"YOUMA!"

The scream was enough to shock Raki out of his stupor, not a moment too soon. Even while he took a hasty step backwards, needle sharp claws raked over his stomach, leaving shallow cuts in their wake.

Raki widened the distance to the monster even more, but the Youma did not make a move, seemingly content to take in the chaos its appearance had caused.

People were desperately trying to get away from the ring, pushing and trampling over each other while calling for help.

Help that would most likely come too late for Raki.

'_No!'_ Raki admonished himself harshly, '_I can't think like that. I survived so much, there's no way I will die because of some run-of-the-mill-Youma!'_

Forcing his fear down, Raki switched his sword to his left hand and broadened his stance. "I'll kill you."

The Youma laughed a guttural sound that sent chills down his spine. "You have Guts little human. I'll enjoy eating them!"

The next moment, the hulking figure was charging at him.

Lighting fast, Raki's right hand gripped the handle of his Claymore, ripping it free from the harness and sending it into a downward slash in one smooth movement.

The heavy blade bit deeply into the Youma's left shoulder, while Raki barely managed to deflect the clawed hand which was seeking to rend him apart, loosing his long sword in the process.

Raki avoided the follow up attack by jumping up, somersaulting over his opponent and ripping his blade free with the movement.

The Youma was fast though, and whirled around with a speed Raki had no way of matching, smashing a clawed hand into Raki's hastily constructed guard. The blow was enough to make him stagger backwards, rattling his arms with the jarring force.

"Truly marvellous!" the beast crowed. "Not only did you block my attacks, you even struck a blow against me!"

Raki shivered, wondering what good that blow did him. The Youma's left arm was hanging loosely at its side, only a few strands of flesh keeping the shoulder connected with the rest of the body. A wound like that would have been deadly for a human, for the Youma it only meant that one arm was unusable for a short time.

Already Raki could see the flesh slowly knitting back together.

Once the shoulder was healed, it was all over, Raki knew, because even with one Claw the Youma had almost gotten him in their brief exchange.

His chances of winning were slim to none.

'_Only one way to finish this!'_ Raki decided and shifted his stance until his upper body was twisted to the side, his sword pointing away from the Youma.

The Youma laughed again. "Very daring, little human. An all or nothing strike like this…it will leave you wide open, yet you still plan to use it if there is a chance to kill me. I shall OBLIGE!"

The last word was screamed, the Youma bull rushing towards him. Straining his muscles to the breaking point, Raki forced the blade in his hands to move. His Claymore needed only milliseconds to reach maximum velocity, but to Raki it felt like an eternity.

_Now! _He screamed in his own mind when steel finally bit into flesh and lifted his left foot.

Immediately the inertia generated from his swing pulled him around and out of harms way, spinning only on his right foot.

Raki's blade, still on its projected path, cut off the Youma's useless left arm at the elbow and bit through the flesh of its torso, disconnecting the rest of its arm and the shoulder as well.

Yet, the monster did not even pause; instead it reversed direction in a split second, gauging a trench into the ground in the process. The downward swipe that followed was almost too fast to see and Raki barely brought his sword up in time. The air was driven from his lungs as the flat of his blade slammed into his body, his grip on the Claymore lost.

Even while falling to the ground, he tucked into a roll, barely avoiding the clawed appendage that slammed down were he would have landed.

'_Why the hell is it still alive?!!' _Raki observed dismayed, knowing that even a Youma did not survive loosing a third of its torso normally. His mind racing, Raki scrambled backwards, when his left hand gripped something hard and familiar '_My long sword!'_

Above him, the Youma had turned its attention elsewhere. It was his only chance.

Forcing the last of his energy into his legs, Raki lunged, the tip of his swords aimed directly for the green bulging forehead of his enemy.

Almost in slow motion, Raki watched as his blade bit into the Youma's head until it was buried all the way to the hilt, the tip bursting out on the other side.

For a moment, Raki stared into the disbelieving eyes of the monster, watching as the light of life slowly left them.

The Youma's lifeless body toppled over backwards with a mighty crash, Raki's sword still stuck in its head, and he allowed himself to fall to his knees.

Around him, people were still shouting and screaming, but he did not hear a thing.

'_I'm still alive'_ Shock and elation were mingling in his thoughts.

His elation vanished quickly, though, when he became aware of the wet feeling on his stomach.

Looking down, all he saw was red.

'_Must have gotten me on that one attack… _Raki thought detachedly, even while his vision turned black.

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Author's notes:

What do you know? Not even a whole year and I'm already posting the next chapter. *duck*

I know it's been a while, but I still hope you guys enjoyed this newest chapter.

No promises about the next chapter, which may appear next week…or not at all.

Mastermage.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Yoki

The wind howled loudly outside and blew a small shower of snowflakes through the small hole on the wooden door. Lazily the flakes drifted down to settle atop their kin, which had been blown in from previous gusts. The door itself was rattling dangerously on its hinges, but held for the moment.

The rest of the room was just as derelict, only a broken bed frame and the half rotten bed stand indicated that anyone had ever actually lived here.

Still, the walls did a good job of keeping the wind out and the ceiling looked solid enough to survive the weight of the snow piled upon it. It was the best the two of them could get under the circumstances. Helen and Raki had left their hideout early that morning in search of something to eat. As the only human in the group Raki ate the most of everyone by far and Helen tended to gorge herself even though she did not really need it. In addition both of them liked to eat things that actually tasted good and had taken up the task of finding food for the group almost from day one.

Normally it was not much of a chore, but Helen had wanted something special for her birthday and a deer had been her choice of food for the occasion. That had required them to make the trek out from the mountains and to the woods south of Pieta. Coupled with the time it took to actually catch something, it was enough for sunset to arrive when they made their way back.

It got worse though, because a few minutes before they arrived in Pieta, a storm the likes of which Raki had never seen broke out. The thick curtain of snow had been enough to make navigation impossible for Raki, who had not even been able to see Helen when she stood 2 feet from him in the darkness.

In light of that, and the fact that Raki was starting to get cold from being outside in such weather for so long, they had camped out in one of the remaining intact buildings.

"Dammit, if this keeps up I'll turn into a popsicle" Raki managed to say through his chattering teeth.

Unfortunately, the small room was only marginally warmer.

"I could always warm you right up, you know?" Helen said casually from her perch on the wall, her sword leaning next to her.

Raki shook his head forcefully. "No thanks. It's been three years already, I need to learn how to deal with this by myself eventually."

It was a good enough reason, but judging from the slight frown on Helen's face she realized it was not his true motivation. "What's wrong with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" Raki asked. "I'm just trying to become a little more independent. Not being an annoyance to all of you _was_ my original intent after all."

"Cut the crap, will ya?" Helen said annoyed. "I've asked the others. When you go out with them, you don't have any problem asking for a little warmth. You got a problem with me or what?"

The increasing volume Helen used made Raki shrink slightly. "It isn't like that." He mumbled into his thick coat, hoping the warrior would leave it at that.

"Then please explain to me how it is?!" Helen said loudly. By now she had taken to standing. "You've been actively trying to avoid me for a few months now and you even stopped joking around with me. If you want to train, you never seek me anymore. Tell me; how I can interpret that as anything but you hating my guts?"

Raki mumbled the answer into his coat, which caused Helen to jerk him upright from his sitting position by his lapels. "Goddammit, speak up. What the hell did I do wrong?"

All of a sudden, he found himself almost nose to nose with her, their bodies only separated by a few centimetres of air. This close, he could see the tears of frustration the older woman tried to keep at bay, and for the first time Raki realized that he had not been the only one the forced distance he had maintained had hurt.

"You didn't do anything." He forced himself to say. "It's just that…I can't help myself anymore."

Feeling that she was getting somewhere Helen released him so he could stand under his own power. "You can't help yourself?" She asked, not understanding.

"Ever since we first met" Raki managed to get out with obvious difficulty. "you touched me a lot more than necessary and flirted around jokingly… I really like that about you. You always felt warm and friendly once I got to know you." He fell silent for a moment, and looked away from her eyes, staring at the ground instead.

"But?" Helen prodded gently

"Lately, whenever we are close and whenever you flirt with me….I want us to do… what Claudia wanted to do with me."

Helen stared at Raki's head for several seconds. She knew only one Claudia they both knew and that one…

Her eyes flew open and a slight gasp escaped her, when she made the connection. Ever since they had started their exile, Helen had basked in Raki's presence. Having a human male as a friend _willingly_ was more than other half-youma could ever hope to claim, so she had been content. She had known from day one that Claire would ultimately be the one to claim Raki as her lover and she had never entertained thoughts about it.

Yet, here and now the young man had told her he had the hots for her ….and badly. After getting that thought through her head, Helen grinned at the implications. Gripping his chin, she lifted his head so she could look directly into his eyes.

"We can, if you want to."

Raki stared at her, hardly believing his ears."...but…I haven't even…about Claire…" he mumbled, his heart in turmoil.

Recognizing the reason for the distance Raki had kept over the months and his conflict right now, Helen pressed on. "It's all right Raki. Claire isn't here now. Claire isn't the one who makes you blood boil, is she? I am...and you can have me…_right now_"

It was an unfair tactic to use against an adolescent boy, who was in the company of 7 beautiful women 24/7. Raki tried his best, but ultimately, his will lost out to hormones and instinct.

When he moved closer, and pressed his lips to hers in a first feather light kiss, Helen knew she had won.

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*knock knock*

Raki woke from his dream with a start. "Come in please." He said groggily, while rubbing his face in his hands. _I just can't forget it_ He thought ruefully while pushing the memory he had relieved to the back of his mind.

A boy with short cropped brown hair, who looked to be in his late teens, entered with a pail of water and several pieces of cloth clutched in his left hand. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it Yoshua. I don't want to sleep my life away." Raki eyed the bundle in Yoshua's hand. "Do you really have to change the dressing that often?"

Yoshua nodded seriously, while he took a seat at Raki's bedside. "Of course; if we don't keep the wound clean it might get infected. I'm kind of surprised you don't know that. From the way you fight I would have thought you had injuries like these more often in the past."

Raki considered that, while lifting his shirt so Yoshua could treat his wound. In hindsight, it truly was surprising that he had never had a serious injury in the seven years he had spent in the north. It made him wonder just how careful Claire and the rest had been while training him.

"That's the first time I've fought a youma. I'm not nearly as reckless when training, you know." Raki said, making sure to keep any mention of Claymores out of his answer, just like he had done since he had woken up. Explaining the Claymore he carried away by saying he had stolen it, was bad enough.

"Won't your wife be worried about you, knowing that you are doing something so dangerous?" Yoshua asked out of the blue while taking off the old dressing.

The question startled Raki, but Yoshua merely pointed to his right ring finger…or more specifically the simple silver band adorning it. It seemed the young man was more observant than his sunny personality indicated.

"Don't worry. If anyone has the right to worry it would be me. She's doing something far more dangerous after all."

Yushua arched his brows. "More dangerous than trying to find out how youma are reproducing? I find that hard to believe."

Raki shrugged. "It's not like I want to fight youma or something like that. That I stumbled over the one in your town was pure luck." Raki winced when his caretaker touched one of the more tender wounds. "Or misfortune…depending on who you ask." He finished awkwardly.

Yoshua laughed. "I suppose so. Still, killing a youma all alone sure is awesome; if everyone was that strong, these beasts would be wiped out pretty fast."

Raki grimaced, not from the pain, but from annoyance. It had been 3 days since he had awoken inside Yoshua's home. The young man had taken care of him to the best of his ability. It seemed his father was the town chief and in thanks for his killing of the youma they let him stay there free of charge as long as he wanted.

Unfortunately, everyone seemed to forget that he had _not_ killed the damned Youma alone. It seemed the towns guard had peppered its side with a salvo of arrows, which had allowed Raki the time needed to finish it off.

Sure, the praise he received on waking had been great, but as time wore on it got more and more annoying.

"For gods' sake, Yoshua, will you shut up about that youma?! I didn't kill it alone and even then I only survived because one of its arms was useless from the start."

Yoshua gaped at him for a moment, surprised at the outburst and Raki immediately felt guilty.

"Sorry…I didn't want to yell at you." He said softly "but I want you to understand that a human is simply a human, no matter how you look at it. If everyone could be strong enough to defend themselves against youma that would be great, but in the end a human will never attain even half the speed and power even average youma are capable of."

"But you managed to fight it to a standstill!" Yoshua pointed out, causing Raki to sigh

"I can't deny that, but you have to understand that my whole sword style is geared towards fighting someone stronger and faster than me. It relies heavily on surprise and unconventional attacks to bridge that gap of power. When it comes to speed and strength alone, I was in way over my head. Humans can't do superhuman feats; it's as simple as that."

Yoshua stayed silent for a few moments, and Raki thought he had finaly gotten through to him, when the younger man gave him a challenging look. "If what you say is true, then why are you healing so fast?"

Raki could only gape uncomprehending. _'Eh?' _

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3 days later Raki stepped out of the Inn, quickly shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. After a week inside his eyes weren't used to the bright light.

Yoshua's claim of his superhuman healing ability had proven true and the stitches, that should have taken at least 2 more weeks to heal properly, had already been taken out. Unfortunately, the young man had told everyone and his dog about this 'amazing ability' as well.

That included Yoshua's father, who had already been a little uneasy about Raki's presence thanks to the Claymore he had used to slay the youma. It seemed even the weapons the half-youma used to fight were enough to give normal humans the jitters.

Once the town chief had gotten wind of his miraculous healing, whatever goodwill Raki had garnered vanished, to be replaced by mistrust and fear.

And so Raki found himself outside, even though his stomach was still giving off a twinge of pain every now and then. The pain was nothing, though, compared to the pain he felt when the citizens around him looked at him like he was a rabid animal. He had more or less saved the town, and yet they treated him no better than the thing he had protected them from.

'_This is what Claire and the others must have felt like, every time they finished an assignment' _Raki thought dismally as he started the trek towards the eastern town gate. The people on the street parted before him like the red sea for Moses.

While walking, he heard them whispering. 'Strange' and 'Freaky' were two of the friendlier things people used to describe him. When a young mother grasped her little daughters hand and told her not to get close to the 'monster', Raki clenched his fist to keep from exploding.

How Claymores could take this kind of abuse without going on a rampage was a complete mystery to him.

Raki had almost reached the town border, when Yoshua came running down the street. "Raki!!Wait!"

Raki turned to face the younger male, while absently noting that the other townsfolk were looking at Yoshua like he was crazy. "Did I forget something at the inn?" Raki asked, while Yoshua tried to catch his breath from the run.

"No….nothing…like that." Yoshua huffed out between breaths. "I just want you to know, that I'm still grateful to you for saving us from the youma. You did a great thing for this town…I didn't want you to leave here thinking _everyone_ thought ill of you."

Despite the scared and mistrusting eyes he could feel on his person, Raki could not help but smile. "Thanks, I really needed that Yoshua. I know this may be a lot to ask, but can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure! You saved our town a lot of trouble, after all." Yoshua said enthusiastically.

Raki clapped his right hand on Yoshua's shoulder and looked him straight into the eyes. "I know this may be a lot to ask, but if you ever meet a Claymore, please treat her like you treated me. Even if she is only passing through, try to talk with her. They are suffering so much for our sake, a little warmth and company is the least they deserve. "

Yoshua stared at him, stunned either by Raki's request or the passion in his voice. "That Claymore you carry…you didn't steal it like you told us, did you?" The boy asked, and Raki could tell Yoshua was piecing together at least some of the puzzle he represented to others.

"Yeah, I didn't."

Yoshua was obviously conflicted about that revelation, and Raki reluctantly pulled his hand away. "I've spent time with them, Yoshua," He said in a low voice. "and they are more human than some of our species could ever hope to be. What you are does not matter, only what you do. I wish more people would understand that."

Having said all he could, Raki once again turned from the town and started walking.

He was almost 30 meters away, when he heard the shouting behind him. "I'll try, Raki! I'll make them understand!"

Raki walked on, a satisfied smile on his lips.

As long as people like Yoshua were around, there was still hope for humanity as a whole.

Once Raki had left the village behind him, he drew his Claymore and gingerly traced the edge, which was still sharp, even after the years of abuse he had pushed it through.

"What am I going to do now, Claudia?" He asked his blade.

The sword did not answer of course, but Raki needed to feel like someone was around and he had always felt that some part of Claudia was indeed resting within the sword, as insane as it sounded. Regarding the sword silently, Raki thought back to his parting with Claire, Helen and the rest.

After Raki had told them that it was bugging him that no one knew just where the hell youma really came from and he intended to find out more, the Claymores had made it clear that he was not supposed to do anything dangerous, which included contacting the organisation or trying to find a youma to fight. That made getting information pretty damn hard and Raki suspected he could ask all over the place without finding out anything in the next 3 months.

He had already fought a youma though, even if he had not looked for it. That meant he would catch hell from them one way or another.

"Guess that means we will make a trip to the organisation, ne?" Raki asked his sword impishly, determined to proof worthy of the sword he carried, even if it meant defying his wife's wishes.

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As usual on a sunny day, the market place was filled with people. Local merchants tried to sell their everyday goods, like meat and fruits, while travelling traders offered more exotic goods like rare fabrics or gems. People were haggling left and right.

It was an utterly human scene.

7 years ago, when she had first come here, the smell and noise had made her very uncomfortable.

Now, she delighted in her ability to experience what had been but a distant dream once upon a time.

To prove her point she promptly bought some fruits from her usual vendor, receiving a bright smile for her money.

'_Life is good' _Galatea thought, just like she had thought the last few years.

A slight twinge on her senses made her pause, though.

All morning her senses had been itching, giving her several such twinges over the past few hours. With her Yoki suppressed as it was, to the point that her eyes had returned to their natural blue color even without suppressant-pills, it was very hard to sense yoki, even for her.

Yet, the continued sense of wrongness she had felt all through the morning left no doubt in her mind:

A Youma had finally come into her hiding place.

Her good mood soured instantly.

She could kill it without being seen, but the sudden death of a Youma would still get the organization onto the plan. In addition, to kill it, she had to find it and for that she had to dispel her disguise. 'Casting' it anew would take a good two weeks and was therefore not an option.

If she did nothing about it, it would kill a few humans. The town was moderately rich though, and a member of the organization would soon come to dispatch it.

No matter what she did, unless a miracle happened she would have to search for a new hideout.

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3 days later the second human was killed in town. Galatea was once again walking around town. By now the knowledge that a Youma was near had dimmed the normally jovial spirit of the townspeople considerably.

The streets were only sparsely populated and everyone looked around nervously. Even the weather seemed to reflect the general mood: grey rain-laden clouds were slowly rolling over the town.

The stranger caught her eye almost right away. Walking upright without a care in the world he was in stark contrast to the people around him. He looked young, no older than 25, but the thick cloak he wore obscured further features, so she only had his face to go by.

Her attention did not go unnoticed and before she knew it, Galatea found herself standing in front of the man.

"Excuse me miss. Could you tell me why everyone is so down around here?"

A strange question to ask, Galatea thought, but answered without hesitation…she did not need any kind of attention right now. "Two people were killed the past 3 days. It seems a youma has taken up residence in our town."

The man pursed his lips slightly, almost like he expected her answer.

"Would you mind showing me where the murders happened?"

"I do not mind, but what do you want there? The corpses have already been brought away. Aside from some left over blood there isn't much to see."

"Frankly, I don't know myself. I'm simply curios I suppose."

There was more to his intentions, Galatea could tell, but decided not to pry. "Follow me please. We will have to walk a few minutes to get there."

"Lead the way, miss…?"

"Galatea."

"Galatea. An elegant name for an elegant woman." He said easily. "My own name is not quite that impressive. I am Raki."

"Do you always compliment women you have only known for a few minutes?" She asked a little put off by his forward manner, but nonetheless moving towards their destination.

Raki winced noticeably. "Ah…sorry about that. I've been living with some very taciturn companions these last few years. I may have gotten a little too used to filling the silence. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable."

"I suppose I can overlook it, if you tell me why you really want to see the place of murder."

Raki chuckled in response, confirming that he had really lied about his motives. "Either I'm not as good a liar as I thought, or you have a phenomenal sense when it comes to such things."

"How much do you know about Claymores and youma?" He asked, after a short pause.

"Youma eat humans. Claymores are half-youma used to hunt them down. That's about it" Galatea said, omitting just how much she really knew

"Mmh…I guess normal people really don't know a lot about them, eh? Claymore are so good at hunting youma not only because of their incredible strength, but because they can sense them. From what I understand that is only made possible because both are using Yoki to make themselves stronger."

"That makes sense, but it does not explain your motives." Galatea remarked, more or less bored by being told information she already knew.

"Wow, now you're just being unfriendly." He responded, not the least bit insulted. "I was just getting to that. I stumbled over a youma a few days from here. It was fighting me in a competition in its human guise. It looked like a really nice guy too. Imagine my surprise when the guy suddenly turned into an ugly monster. Frankly, that's an experience I don't need again. I want to take a look so I can find a way to recognize them; there has to be a way to do that."

Galatea was a very good observer and she could tell that, while telling the truth, Raki was still withholding something. Not that it mattered much, because what he intended to do was doomed to failure anyway.

In the history of the organization there had never been mention of a human being able to detect yoki or youma in over a thousand years. Put simply, what he claimed was impossible. Not only would it have been impossible for him to sense yoki, it was also impossible for a human to survive a fight with a youma when he was the first to engage its true form.

Galatea suppressed a sigh. '_He seemed nice enough, but I guess he is just a crazy idiot. Time to play my part I guess.'_

"That sounds really incredible! You survived a fight with a youma and you think there is a way to sense them?" She asked, injecting some awe into her voice for good measure.

Raki was just about to answer, when they reached the alley in which the first kill had happened. Galatea, not wishing to hear more nonsense, gestured towards the dried puddle of blood on the ground. "Anyway, this is the first place, why don't you try your luck?"

This close Galatea could sense the residual yoki that was saturating the place, even with her aura sealed as it was.

Raki closed his eyes and stepped right into the middle of the largest residue, most likely the place the Youma had crouched while eating its meal.

It was quite a coincidence, Galatea had to admit.

"There isn't anything here. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Thanks for your help, though. I'm sure I can find my way without you now." Raki finally said after looking the whole scene over for a few minutes.

For a guy who had made friendly small talk on the way over, the sudden dismissal was awfully sudden and after bidding Raki farewell Galatea decided to follow the human on a hunch. '_Not like I have anything better to do.'_

Over the next 50 minutes they trekked all over the city, Raki stopping at random intervals and even backtracking a few times. As a Claymore it was easy enough for Galatea to stay undetected, which made the whole thing so boring that she was just about to go her own way when she saw where Raki had led them.

In front of them stood a small rundown building, its door and one of the small windows smashed to pieces. A thick trail of blood covered the entrance. Almost like a bleeding man had dragged his body over the ground.

Raki had found the place of the second murder.

Galatea watched silently while Raki took a closer look at the house, vanishing inside after a short look at the remains of the door.

Her thoughts were racing at the speed of light.

The town was not that big, so the chances of stumbling over the place of the second murder weren't that low, but Galatea wasn't the eye of her generation for nothing. She had seen the way Raki had navigated the streets. He hadn't been walking around randomly, no, he had clearly followed a trail and there was only one trail that ended at a place like this.

Yoki.

How many beings in existence could sense yoki while suppressing their own yoki to the point that Galatea, the Eye of her generation, could not even sense it standing right next to them?

Raki came out of the house again and smiled at her when he found her standing on the street. "Hey Galatea! Seems I found the second place on my own. Luck is really on my side today. Thanks again for showing me the first. Finding that would have been impossible alone."

Galatea shivered.

A very old and most likely very strong awakened with a smile that looked so genuine it made her skin crawl stood in front of her and her sword was gathering dust under the floorboards of her house. It was the first time since she had settled here that she felt naked without it.

"It was my pleasure" She forced out her voice sounding like a cracked record to herself. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some urgent business to attend to."

She did not even hear whatever answer he gave over the thundering in her ears, but managed a friendly wave while her mind was already busy thinking up a plan to kill him.

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End Chapter 4

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Author's notes:

.

For those wondering what's happening with Claire and the others, fear not, all will be answered in due time.

Provided I keep posting new stuff, that is.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Mistakes**

Raki took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

He had parted ways with Galatea 20 minutes prior, but he was still a little perturbed. When he had come out of the house of the second victim, she had looked like she had seen a ghost for a fleeting moment, before a friendly smile once again stole over her face. Coupled with her rushed behaviour, it made him a little uneasy.

'_This is more important though' _He told himself when he finally worked up the courage to knock on the door that had been silently mocking him for the last 5 minutes.

A few seconds later a middle aged woman opened the door and the by now familiar sensation that signalled yoki close by became an almost tangible thing.

"How may I help you?" The woman asked neutrally. Her face was slightly haggard and her short brown hair looked untidy.

Raki did not answer, his mind busy recalling the last time he had felt this kind of thing so strongly. The youma was somewhere in that house, no doubt. Maybe it was standing in front of him even now!

"Hello? Why did you come here?" The woman asked him again, slightly irritated.

"Ah…excuse my rudeness. I was wondering if you knew anything about the youma attacks that happened these last three days." He got out finally, managing to sound only slightly nervous instead of scared.

Instead of answering him, the woman started crying all of a sudden.

"Miss? Miss? Are you okay?" he asked as while gently touching her shoulder.

Before he knew it, she had wrapped her arms around him and was crying against his shoulder."…that thing.....it killed my husband!"

Raki winced when he heard that. Here the poor woman was crying her heart out to a complete stranger because her husband was killed and he had suspected her of being a youma.

The two of them were getting more than a few curios glances from other people, so he quickly moved the unresisting woman into her home and closed the door.

The room beyond the door was about 4 by 4 and served as a kitchen and living room at once.

A narrow stairway to the left led to the second story of the small house. Separated from the main room by a thin wooden wall was another room on the ground-level.

That was everything Raki managed to take in while seating the woman at the kitchen table, all the while softly patting her back.

Finally she calmed down enough to let go of him. While she wiped away her remaining tears he sat down opposite of her without saying anything.

"Thank you" She said quietly and gave him a brittle smile. "Now, what did you want to know?"

"I wanted to know how many people are currently living in your house." Raki said just as quietly, afraid he would send her into another crying fit.

"Aside from me, only my children and my father are living here. My father is upstairs in bed. It seems he caught a cold three days ago, so we should not bother him, but you can meet Charlotte and Vincent if you want."

"If it does not bother you too much..."

"Nonsense, I bet they will be delighted to meet you." She said with genuine mirth in her eyes. "Vincent, Charlotte! Come out, there's someone here who wants to meet you"

A moment later a girl and a boy, both no older than 10, came out of the room adjoining the living room. The two of them stepped in front of him and bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you, Mister."

Their eyes looked empty, but something lurked beneath the surface that Raki could not pinpoint. Had he looked that miserable after losing his family? He hoped not.

"No need to be so formal you two. I'm not your teacher." Raki said in hopes of lightening the mood in the room.

Both, Chartlotte and Vincent, did not change their posture at all. Their eyes kept darting about the room.

Finally, Raki realized their behaviour had nothing to do with formality, but with fear.

He had almost forgotten the youma.

"Did any of you meet anyone new the last three days?" He asked, hoping to keep up the charade of curious investigator. If he did not ask questions it would seem strange and may even alert the youma.

"No one saw anyone new or strange before this happened, or did you?" Their mother answered, and a round of headshaking ensued. Vincent had looked ready to say something, though, and Raki tensed slightly; obviously, the mother was hiding something.

Before he could investigate further the creaking of the stairway announced a new arrival. "What's this entire ruckus down here about, Karla?" A wizened voice said, followed by a shift in the yoki that Raki could not grasp.

Was it the youma?

Feeling vulnerable with his back to the new arrival, Raki stood up to greet the grandfather of the house. "Please excuse my intrusion, sir. It was not my intention to disturb you like this."

The man on the stairs cracked a strange smile, which caused his already pronounced wrinkles to become even deeper. With the cane in his right hand to support himself and his dangerously thin body, it was hard to believe that he could hurt a fly.

"Don't worry lad. Better yet, watch out for yourself!" He said, while gesturing over to the woman Raki now knew to be Karla. "Her husband isn't even dead three days and she's already is looking for fresh meat"

Raki gaped, shocked at the crass statement. Here the woman and the children had just lost their husband and father, and this geezer had the gall to joke about it!

"Father!" Karla said, outraged and stood up abruptly. Vincent and Charlotte took the opportunity to scramble back to their room. "I'm not that bad!"

Her announcement was accompanied with another shift in the yoki he could feel floating about the room and Raki quickly forgot his outrage over her father's crass comment.

There was no doubt about it, the youma was in the room with him…but who was it? Her father said Karla was looking for fresh meat. Maybe he knew she was the youma and was talking to her this way because he knew it would not bother her?

The shift in the surroundings, which had accompanied Karla's outcry, gave credence to that assumption. After all, Claire had told him that emotions did influence the flow of ones yoki.

The flow had shifted when the old man had come down the stairs as well, though. Maybe it was the old geezer?

Even while these thoughts were rushing trough his head, Raki could feel his panic rising with the realization that he could not say with certainty who was the youma.

'_It wasn't supposed to be like this' _Raki thought frantically, while standing in between the sick old man and his grief stricken daughter. In his desperation, one of his many conversations with Claire flashed through his mind.

"_Youma are not simple beasts. It is not unheard of for them take on human children as their own so they have an even better alibi."_

Charlotte and Vincent were both looking out of their room with fearful eyes. It was obvious they knew who the youma was, but that did not help him now.

"_Youma are very good actors. No matter who it is, don't ever assume they are innocent. Especially sick people or persons close to the known victims should be prime-suspects."_

One was sick and one was a newly christened widow. Dammit, which one was it?!

"_In the end, the only way to identify a youma for sure is by sensing its yoki."_

"You look even sicker than I feel, young fellow. I think you need to be taken care of." The old man spoke with a voice that sounded like old sandpaper and contained a slight malicious lilt.

It had to be him!

But maybe he was a little cranky, because of his sickness?!

"Get back to bed father. I'll give our guest what he needs."

What he needed? What could Raki need? ; Aside from finding the youma? Maybe it was her, not the old man?

'_Shut up!' _Raki told his racing mind.

His thoughts silent for the moment, he closed his eyes and forced out everything but the crawling sensation that seemed to envelop his whole body.

'_Which one is it?'_

The old man was speaking again and Raki delved even deeper into his inner world. The yoki swirled around him in chaotic patterns, covering all the colours of the rainbow.

What he was looking for was not there, and he pushed outward, trying to see beyond the chaotic pattern.

'_Which one is it?!?'_

In the distance a dull throb tried to get his attention, but he forced it away. He wanted…no NEEDED to see more clearly! Crunching his brow in concentration, Raki gave one last push and for a single moment, the bubble burst, enabling him a brief glimpse of the world beyond his own body.

'THERE!' He thought in elation, and his eyes snapped open, even while he drew his Claymore.

"What …" Whatever the old man wanted to say stuck in his throat when Raki's sword whistled through the air.

Barely missing the old man's greying hair Raki shifted on his feet, fighting to stay on his feet. The blade moved according to his will and bit into Karla's left side, her face a study of shock.

The sword split her midsection from left to right until it burst out the other side.

Her lifeless body started dropping before his Claymore stopped moving. Her upper part, cleanly separated from her legs and belly, hit the chair she had been sitting on with a wet squelch while the rest toppled harmlessly to the ground, giving off a thud as well.

To his left Vincent and Chartlotte were screaming their mother's name.

For one horrifying moment he thought he had made a mistake. Why else would the children, who no doubt knew who the youma was, scream like that?

Then the unremarkable features of the young woman twisted and bloated, her fair skin turning a sickly mix of blue and brown, even while her inner organs were slowly dripping down the chair and pooling on the ground.

'_I did it' _ Raki thought in elation.

It lasted for but a moment though, because the dull throb he had only registered on a distant level returned full force as the headache from hell, causing his knees to buckle.

At the same time a strong pulse of yoki, which dwarfed anything he had felt up to now in this house, erupted behind him.

The realization that two youma had taken up residence in this house hit him like a pail of ice water.

His body reacted without thought, almost like it was trying to dodge said ice water, even if it was a figment of his imagination and he lurched forward from his kneeling position.

His head hit one of the table's legs with full force and the short spike of pain, coupled with the raging inferno in his skull, was enough to send him into oblivion…

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Miria walked at a brisk pace. It had already been a month since they had parted ways with Raki and so far their search for Isley was not going well.

Aside from an unwelcome encounter with Riful there was no sign of awakened beings much less an abyssal in the south.

2 days back they had stopped at a village while using the suppression pills, when the first real lead had appeared. Apparently a local youth had returned from visiting some distant relatives who lived nearly 2 weeks of travel away and brought news of their gruesome passing. The talkative innkeeper had been more than willing to tell them anything they wanted to know when they asked why it was 'gruesome'.

The way his eyes had undressed them while he talked had severely tried Miria's patience, though, and she had been a little short tempered since then. That aside, the information was actually useful. It seemed the village the youth had come from suffered from an infestation of very strong youma along with over a dozen other towns and villages in the same vicinity.

Very strong youma usually equalled an awakened, though, and it did not make sense for them to roam free for any length of time so obviously now that the organisation was actively hunting them down.

That meant something there made her former masters cautious and Miria knew only one thing was strong enough to scare the organisation.

An Abyssal.

While unconfirmed and wildly speculative, it was their only lead and everyone had decided that it was worth a shot.

The search was bearing fruits finally and Miria should have been happy about that, but at the moment she was pissed, more than anything else.

To her left Cynthia and Tabitha were keeping pace, while Yuma and Deneve were walking to her right. Claire and Helen brought up the rear.

"I can't wait for this to be over. Just thinking about the way Raki twists his hips just right when slamming his **** into my ***** gets me hot. And when he's licking that one place behind my ear at the same time…Ooooh, I can't wait!"

"I don't like that. It distracts from the act itself. His mouth ******* on my ****** while he is ******* me is far more pleasurable."

Miria's left eyebrow started twitching despite her best efforts.

The conversation Helen and Claire were currently having was unfortunately not the exception but the norm for the last 2 weeks. Without Raki present to sate the desires his company had awakened in these two they had turned to discussing the sex life they missed so much openly…and down to the tiniest detail.

In the beginning it was mostly Helen who had tried to steer the conversation in that direction, but to Miria's consternation Claire had lost whatever resistance she had mustered about 2 days ago.

Ever since that day Miria had to censor every second word these two said just to keep her sanity. Deneve did not show any outward sign to being bothered with the things she heard from behind, but Miria suspected the other warrior had long since learned to completely zone out Helen's foul mouth.

Yuma, Cynthia and Tabitha were not so fortunate, though, and Miria feared their bodies would stop working with all the blood that was rushing to their heads for most of the journey.

"You know, now that I think about it….after being away from us for so long Raki has to be pretty hard up for some *****. I've always wanted to try getting ****** up the ***, maybe this is our chance to convince him to do it when meet up again?" That comment from Helen was enough for Cynthia to go cross eyed and for Tabitha to stumble.

It was also the last straw for Miria. "I swear to god, if I hear another mention of *****,*******,******* or any other sexual reference I'll shove my sword up your *****, is that clear??!"

Rubbing her temples to ward off the headache Miria felt coming despite the sudden blessed silence, she swore herself that she would hit Raki _hard_ for the indignity of listening to these two.

'_Then again, I'm somewhat at fault here as well...' _she admitted silently, when she remembered her part in bringing the strange little love triangle between Helen, Claire and Raki into existence.

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It had been 3 weeks since Helen's birthday party, a tradition the boisterous Claymore insisted on observing even though none of the half-youma even remembered their specific birth date. To that end Helen had simply made up a date for everyone while making sure to arrange every date of celebration with equal distance so 'they had something to look forward to, no matter the season' as she had said.

Generally Helen was always in a good mood after any kind of celebration, but the shit eating grin that had been present on Helen's face ever since her birthday was disconcerting. Helen's unnatural bliss coupled with the severe blush Raki seemed to sport all day long made a conclusion very obvious.

Not that Helen was very discreet about it either, demanding private training with the boy every day only to return with an expression that screamed 'satisfied' to Miria's observant eyes.

In her bliss, Helen had not noticed the strain her actions put on the group, while Miria had to watch in dismay as the interactions between Claire and Raki became increasingly strained. Claire was surprisingly naïve about things like this and Miria was sure she had not yet realized what was going on, but the guilt that was eating Raki from the inside out was as plain as day for anyone who cared to look. No doubt, being in Claire's presence only made it worse, so the boy had started avoiding the woman, which in turn put a damper on Claire's mood because she thought she had done something wrong.

On the day Miria had agreed to take Raki in, she had already foreseen a situation like this and now that it was here she had to deal with it before their closely knit unit broke apart because of it.

The day her and Claire were paired for individual training she made her move.

Understandably Claire was a little put off when Miria told her to follow and quickly hurried to the spot Raki and Helen usually used for 'training'.

Luck was on their side for once, because Raki and Helen had not yet gotten busy when Miria and Claire crested the last hill to the flat stone plain that was used for practice.

The lovebirds were standing in front of the tiny cave they usually used to satisfy their urges, which was conveniently next to the practice ground and tried their best to see how far they could get their tongue into the other's throat.

Claire stood rooted to the spot, her eyes unwilling to leave the scene in front of her. Helen and Raki continued totally unaware of their audience.

Miria cleared her throat loudly.

Raki was out of Helen's arms and standing 2 meters away from the amorous Claymore at the unexpected sound faster than he had ever been in training and Miria could not help the amusement that flowed through her at that.

When the boy caught sight of her, and more specifically Claire, his eyes reflected his horror at being caught quiet well. "Wha…What are you doing here?" He asked, still unbalanced from the unexpected situation.

"I think we should be the one asking that question, don't you think?" Miria retorted.

Helen quickly stepped in front of Raki and glared at Miria . "What we're doing here is none of business. There's nothing for you to get all pissed about!"

"This is not my business, but I believe Claire has a right to know what's going on. Now, why don't you tell her?"

Claire looked positively lost, like a little child that was told that Santa Claus was a lie. "What do you need to tell me?" She asked in a small voice, no trace of the mighty warrior inside her visible.

Both Raki and Helen wilted at her question and tried to stammer out the beginnings of a few half assed lies to keep Claire in the dark

Miria sympathized with all of them. While she had never been in love with someone, as far as she could tell, it was easy to see that these three cared for each other a great deal.

Revealing the relationship between Helen and Raki would hurt Claire and neither of them wanted that, but Miria felt responsible for everyone under her command and the current situation had to be resolved before someone did something very stupid.

Steeling her determination to see this through, Miria did what she had to do. "I see you don't know where to begin, so I'll start for you….Claire, these two have been screwing like rabbits every chance they got since Helen's birthday."

With no objection forthcoming, Claire had to accept the truth of her blunt words. Miria felt Claire's body tremble under the hand she had laid on her shoulder.

"Why?" The silver eyed woman simply asked; her sorrow and betrayal solely directed at Raki.

In the privacy of her own mind, Miria admitted to herself that Raki's following action was truly worthy of respect. Instead of justifying his actions, he looked Claire straight in the eye and told her everything about the cold night in Pieta he had shared with Helen and the weeks that followed up to the present. He told her how he basked in Helen's warmth and in her closeness and in the love the Claymore gave him so willingly.

Helen was positively glowing at his words.

Claire looked devastated."…but our kiss…the promise we made when we were running from Ophelia, does that mean nothing?"

"Claire…I love you with every fibre of my being…I wanted to be with you ever since you first kissed me and I still do; But we've been here over three years and you never gave any indication of wanting more than what we have." Raki paused for a moment, obviously gathering his thoughts. "I tried to wait for you, but Helen is so open with her affection…I simply can't control myself, I'm sorry."

"If you really love me…then why…with her? Do you love her more than me?!" Claire queried further. Helpless anger and frustration tainted her voice.

Raki studied the ground intently. "I…like Helen a lot…but not as much as you."

Helen grimaced when Raki admitted that, but Miria suspected the other Claymore had known that all along. She was proven true when Helen overrode Claire's next logical question. "Simple, I seduced him. He's been around us for nearly 3 years now without an outlet for his urges. I gave him that outlet, regardless of his feelings for me."

While honest, Helen's admission instantly made her a prime target for the frustration and anger Claire was feeling and before Miria had a chance to interfere Claire's sword clashed against Helen's guard. "You!!! I thought we were friends!! I _trusted_ you, and you do something like _this_?!" Claire ranted as she tried to overpower Helen.

"We _are_ friends! It's not my fault you are too thick headed to take what's right in front of you!" Helen retorted and the two of them were soon exchanging blows.

Raki told them to stop, but they did not listen and the boy was forced to watch as the two most important women in his life did their best to kill each other. Miria likewise watched the fight, but with a more critical eye. Unlike Raki, she could tell that both, Helen and Claire, needed this to clear the air between them and to blow of some steam, but neither fought to kill the other.

Nonetheless, she decided to interfere when Raki got ready to jump between them.

'_If the object of the current dispute is sliced to pieces it will not exactly help' _Miria concluded, even though she was sorely tempted to let it happen, if only because all this drama gave her a headache.

Judging the moment right, Miria slashed right in between her battling comrades, forcing both of them to jump back. "That is quite enough, ladies. I will not pretend to understand the full range of your feelings, but fighting will not solve the problem."

"And what do you want us to do instead?" Claire demanded, intent on solving the dilemma by force, it seemed.

"I want you to think about your situation. We have survived the awakened hunt together, we have survived Pieta together and we promised to take revenge _together_. The friendship that blossomed out of these trials is a precious thing. It is more than most of our kind ever experience and we should be thankful for it. Do you really intend to throw all that away because of a useless emotion like jealously? Have you gotten so greedy for happiness that you would not even share it with those closest to you?" Claire, Helen and Raki looked positively stunned by her moving speech and Miria was surprised to feel the stinging in her eyes that indicated that she was about to cry. Those words had come from her heart and the thought of her comrades, no, her friends, not getting along shook her more than she had thought possible.

"Miria?" Helen asked hesitantly and Miria quickly turned away to hide her face.

"As your commander…and as your friend, I ask you to work this out between the three of you before you return to camp today." Miria said, forcing her voice to stay level. "I will leave you to your privacy now."

After that Miria had walked away without turning back. She was proud of the fact that nothing of her unexpected emotional outburst had been visible when she had gotten back to camp.

The rest of that day she was unable to concentrate on anything and contented herself with hunting for a decent dinner.

Claire, Helen and Raki returned to camp well after nightfall, together and smiling.

The sight warmed Miria's heart and when the three of them talked animatedly with each other over dinner without any of the awkwardness and animosity that had been present the days before Miria felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The crisis was averted and their little 'family' stayed the way it was.

From that day on, Raki did a lot of private training with Claire as well and more often than not, Helen was invited along.

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'_Forcing these three to solve their problems like that may have been the worst mistake of my life' _Miria conceded after her little trip down memory lane.

Surprisingly Helen and Claire were still silent.

"Thank god, it's finally over." Cynthia whispered gratefully.

"I suppose it is worth a try, but I will be the first." Claire stated behind them in a barely heard voice to prove Cynthia wrong.

"Yeah yeah, I know…the wife gets her husband first. Sloppy seconds are good enough for the ***-friend, eh?"

Miria hung her head along with the others, Deneve excluded, when the discussion behind them once again started up with Helen's remark.

'_Definitely my worst mistake'_ Miria thought morosely.

"Wimps" Deneve, the only one who seemed totally unaffected, said quietly and Miria's head sunk even further.

Definitely the worst…

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Sleeping while being slung over someone's shoulder while that someone was flat out sprinting, Raki noted on waking, was not a very pleasant experience.

The ground was racing by so fast that all he could make out was a blur. Together with the up and down movement and the headache that was still raging in his head it served to make him very sick very fast.

"Hey!" He grunted out. "Put me down, okay?"

"We must make haste. You can not move fast enough" A familiar voice retorted. They had not slowed down at all.

"Listen." He started to say, but had to stop a moment when his stomach heaved. "If you don't put me down now, I'll have no other choice but to introduce your cape to the contents of my stomach."

That worked, maybe a little to well.

In the blink of an eye they went from full speed to standing still and Raki felt his stomach lurch from the forces involved in stopping so fast.

Whoever carried him reacted fast, though, and dropped him to the ground none too gently.

Not that Raki cared, what with being busy decorating the forest floor and all.

"What a grizzly sight" His companion noted with a disgusted undertone after Raki's stomach had stopped rebelling.

"What did you expect when running around with me like that?!" Raki fired back, while getting some distance from his recent 'accident'.

"My apologies; I thought you would be sturdier."

Raki, after standing up, finally got this first glance at his companion and gaped. "Galatea?" he asked dumbly.

The silver eyed woman before him raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be a question?"

The timbre of her voice, her facial structure and the clothes she wore; everything pointed to the obvious: she was indeed Galatea.

While several things about her presence in the city did not add up, Raki decided to concentrate on one thing at a time, while the elephants were still dancing tango in his head.

"I guess I owe you my thanks for saving my life from that second youma?"

"Your thanks are appreciated, but unnecessary. It was weak." Galatea said graciously.

Raki chuckled. "Yeah, a warrior would say that, I suppose. Still, I'm really grateful you came to safe me."

Galatea decided not to answer that, instead she pondered the irony of saving the one she had originally come to slay.

Raki, who had not really expected an answer anyway, stood up on rubbery legs and took a few experimental steps. "I think I'm good to walk again. Say, why were you running like that anyway? Do they dislike your kind that much in that town? Is that why you did not carry your sword and disguised your eyes?"

Galatea gave him a flat stare. "You talk a lot."

"I told you, I'm used to filling the silence. So, how about answering me? From our time in the city I know you can hold a decent conversation." Raki reminded her with amusement.

"Very well," Galatea started with a long suffering sigh. "I will satisfy your curiosity, if for no other reason than to shut you up."

"I am sure you have heard of the war in the north 7 years ago. The organisation had sent 24 warriors to their deaths that day, only to abuse two others to defeat the awakened that could not be stopped in Pieta. I have always felt that their methods were questionable, but the day I saw Number 1 and Number 2 reduced to nothing but killing machines without will, I had enough. Ever since then, I have been hiding and living by myself. The youma was simply unlucky to come to the town I was hiding in. They will know that I was there though, so I will have to search for a new hideout."

"So that's why you're in such a hurry to leave. Sorry to hear that." Raki said at length.

After that they walked in silence for a few minutes, until Galaea finally broke. "How did you do it?"

"How did I do what?" Raki asked, playing the ignorant fool.

"How did you sense the youma? How did you slay one of them…and where did you acquire your Claymore?" Galatea specified, keeping her face totally cool.

"I guess I will satisfy your curiosity, if for no other reason than to shut you up." Raki responded, a mocking grin stretching over his face.

"Touché." said his silver eyed companion after getting her words thrown back in her face. A smile twitched along her lips for a moment. "You're a regular joker."

"If that's what it takes to see you warriors smile, I don't mind one bit." Raki said unabashedly. "Anyway, the short version goes like this: I was in Pieta when the big fight went down. Ever since then I've been with the survivors, who where also in hiding. They trained me all the time, and when my old sword broke, they decided I needed something sturdier. That's how I got my hands on this." At that point he patted the hilt of his Claymore with affection.

"As for me being able to sense youma and slay one of them: I don't have the slightest clue. I know a human can't sense yoki, and he sure as hell can't win a fight with a youma, but I did both, so maybe there are exceptions."

"So there are survivors from that day." Galatea ventured, when he did not continue. "I am glad that a few of my comrades made it out alive. Why have you parted ways with them now, though?"

The Claymore was slightly surprised, when Raki gnashed his teeth in the wake of her question, real anger and worry clearly visible on his features. "They decided that it was time to take revenge on Isley, the awakened who was supposedly behind that attack from seven years ago. They did not want me around, because I would only hinder their movements. We're supposed to meet up in 2 months."

Galatea saw the wisdom in that, but wisely kept that to herself, because it was clearly a touchy subject for the young man beside her. Instead she asked him, what he was doing in the meantime.

"I'm investigating." Raki said, clearly welcoming the change of topic. "Miria once told me, that she did not know where youma come from, and the others did not know either, so I decided to use my time to find out more about them. If we knew where and how they are reproducing we could find other means to suppress them."

Galatea could not help but feel strangely touched. Raki was a human, yet he insisted on taking on the problems only her kind was supposed to bother with. It made her intensely curious about his motivation. She was not in the habit of prying into other people's personal business, though, and forced her curiosity aside.

Instead she tried to remember back to her time in the organisation.

As one of the highest ranking warriors of her time and her title as 'the eye' she had been privy to a great many things most warriors did not even hear in rumours. She had spent a great deal of time reading up on the history of the organisation, but she had never come across any details about youma breeding.

It was a part of knowledge that was strangely missing from the extensive library the organisation possessed, just like the beginnings of the organisation were very unclear.

Amidst all that useless information a little, seemingly inconsequential memory suddenly caught her inner eye and she hummed quietly.

"You have a noble goal. Unfortunately, I do not know anymore than your friends. In all the lore I have read, there has never been any mention about their breeding habits. I only remember an old text dating back nearly 400 years. It mentioned a sudden outbreak of youma 4 days north of Suku, which went hand in hand with reduced youma activity in the rest of the land."

Raki frowned at that. "I appreciate your help, but that's a very weak clue. Maybe I should pay a visit to the organisation and ask them? They have their headquarters there, right?"

"NO!" Galatea surprised herself with her outburst. "You will not find a text there that I have not already read and the members of the inner circle will not answer you anyway. Most likely they will find a way to make you vanish."

"Why would they do that? I mean, they even have a rule that forbids a warrior from killing humans, right?" Raki asked.

"I suppose from an outsiders perspective the organisation looks like a benign group, but think about it for a moment: They charge horrendous prices for exterminating youma, warriors that want to leave service are hunted down and killed. Why do you think that is? They could always make new ones, after all."

Raki pondered that for a moment and shrugged. "I have no clue where you are going with this."

Galatea smirked at his naivety. "It is simple. A free warrior would mean a rival to their business. If a free warrior suddenly decided to slay youma for only a meal and a place to sleep, they would be out of business very fast. In the end, the organisation is only looking to make the most profit, just like everyone else. You, walking around with a Claymore and having slain a youma, would also be nothing but a rival to them."

"That makes sense. Why didn't I think of that myself?" Raki wondered at his own short-sightedness.

Impossibly, the smirk on Galatea's face got even bigger. "You can't expect to have enough brawns to fight a youma _and_ brains."

Even while she said it, Galatea wondered what was wrong with her. While her 7 years living with humans had made her a lot more expressive, joking around like that was not in her nature.

Even more surprising was Raki's reaction.

"True enough. Guess I'm lucky I met someone whose beautiful, brawny _and_ brainy all at once." He said and chuckled good naturedly.

His perfectly delivered compliment left Galatea speechless, and they walked a few minutes in silence. Raki was thinking about what she had told him, and Galatea was trying to figure out whether Raki had no ego to speak of, was good at making compliments or both.

During their silence, they reached a well travelled path, and Raki stopped suddenly, casting a short glance at the sun, which was peaking forth between the grey clouds for a few moments.

"Suku is east of here, right?"

"Yes" Galatea said, slightly startled by his sudden question. "I believe it will take you one week to reach it on foot if you follow this road."

Raki pumped his hand into the air excitedly, seemingly out of the blue. "All right. Let's do this!" Then turning to face her, he continued. "I'm sure you want to get far away from here as fast as possible. Going our separate ways here may be the best."

"True. I had not planned moving this slowly." Galatea affirmed his assumption.

"I want to thank you once again for saving me back there. I hope we will meet again sometime. Good luck."

In the face of Raki's upbeat smile and bearing Galatea could only play along. "Till we meet again. Good luck in your investigation"

That ended the short period they had known each other. No overdramatic goodbye, no tears and no regrets. Despite that Galatea, who was still reeling from her meeting with the extraordinary human, felt a small pang of regret at their parting.

It was the first time in memory someone had treated her as a human being, while knowing she was a half-breed.

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End Chapter 5

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Author's notes:

See? I promised Claire and company will get more screentime and here they are.

By now you have probably guessed that I will slowly explain the current relationships in the group through flashbacks. That has the big advantage that I can use scenes like Claire and Helen discussing their sex-life to throw all of you for a, hopefully funny, loop. :)

See you next chapter.


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